Steve Creek is doing a series of posts over at Steve Creek Outdoors on why the Great Blue Heron is his favorite bird to photograph. I can identify with the sentiment! Great Blues are certainly photogenic, and, since they are relatively abundant, we generally end up taking a lot of pictures of them. Who could resist?

This series of head shots is from Viera Wetlands (1) and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. I took a lot more GBH shots that this but the GBH head shot is a genre unto itself. For one thing, it is a big head, and you can get relatively close to the birds, so it is easy to fill the frame. For another, that look of alert tension is unique to herons and egrets, and the GBH sets the standard. Finally there is interest in the play of textures and colors, from bold beak to the fine features of the cheeks and neck…and the yellow eye is always riveting.

1) Canon SX40HS at 1240mm equivalent field of view (840mm optical plus 1.5x digital tel-extender function). f5.8 @ 1/400th @ ISO 100. 2) Same camera and zoom, f5.8 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 160. 3) Canon SD100HS behind the 30x eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL for the equivalent of 2565mm. 1/500th @ ISO 200. f6.9 effective.

In all cases, Program with iContrast and –!/3EV exposure compensation.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.