p.2 #6 · Blood is in the Water - Great Blue Heron Battle
Remarkable images and interaction...being in the right place at the right time and having the skill set to capture the action is a threesome that doesn't always occur. I do wonder how many times scenes like this play out across species that we never witness.
Eric
p.2 #10 · Blood is in the Water - Great Blue Heron Battle
This is just amazing, Matthew! I've never seen GBHs confront one another so viciously. You've captured the raw violence perfectly, and the fact that you got so many in focus to tell the whole story is remarkable. The setting with the colors reflected in the water is just icing on the cake. Definitely need to submit to a contest!
p.2 #15 · Blood is in the Water - Great Blue Heron Battle
I would enter the first image to multiple contests and not just a single, if I were you. It is simply superb in more than just one way. I know this is not about the gear but out of curiousity, what was your gear for the captures, please? Can you give us the exif data, as well, please? Thanks!
p.2 #18 · Blood is in the Water - Great Blue Heron Battle
AGeoJO wrote:
I would enter the first image to multiple contests and not just a single, if I were you. It is simply superb in more than just one way. I know this is not about the gear but out of curiousity, what was your gear for the captures, please? Can you give us the exif data, as well, please? Thanks!
I used a Nikon D500 and 500mm F4 VR Lens Hand Held.
I started out at 1/1000th of a second and clicked up to 1/1250th somewhere near half way and then to 1/1600th nearing the end, not sure what made me do it maybe just subconsciously or by instinct increased the shutter speed.
I was running Manual Mode but with Auto ISO at -0.3 EV - the aperture was wide open at F4 the whole time. Due to the Auto ISO, the values ranged from around 720-1800ISO, normally around 1250ISO.
I had just changed over to single point focus, I had been using group area most of the day focusing on BIF but for this I had single point and continuous servo back button AF-ON focus.
I will say I was pretty well prepared for the incident as my settings were good enough to get sharp photos and expose correctly in low light, but for instance if I wasn't using at least an F4 lens wide open and a camera capable of 10FPS with class leading autofocus, I doubt the images would have turned out as nice really. They still would have been interesting to see more for documentation reasons, but not photos really worth showing off. I think this is really an instance where lesser gear really would have shown its weekness even in the hands of a capable individual mostly due to the fact of tough light
p.2 #19 · Blood is in the Water - Great Blue Heron Battle
High drama, very well captured. Superlative work. This is the best documented action series I have seen in the FM Nature & Wildlife Forum, plus your first image is really outstanding all by itself.
---John
