“As I stepped over the slippery rock, making sure of my footing, the Heron launched itself into the sky from it’s shoreline perch, fading quickly across the lake.”
– Ed Lehming

This is why a chose landscape and botanical photography as my go-to. I have, on the rare occasion made a good wildlife photo. Those photos are more the result of being in the right place at the right time when an opportunity presents itself. Most often, the wildlife is fleeing or gone already.

I have a special respect for the work that goes into being a successful and consistent wildlife photographer. It involves days of preparation, scouting, and immeasurable patience and practice to get the shot that presents the wildlife correctly in its natural environment.

As my past few posts have indicated, I was actually on my way to photograph Burleigh Falls. On my way I encountered wonderful plants, a chipmunk, and almost two herons. Both herons surprised me, as I was not expecting them along the edge of this fast flowing waterfall. I’m used to herons along the calm shores of lakes and ponds. I actually startled them both, because the rush of the water masked the sound and movement of my approach. In fact, they started me as they launched themselves into the air to escape.

This is the better shot of the two, as I was able to quickly focus on the heron as it faded away. The other shot was out of focus. The other factor here was I has only carrying  my 90mm macro lens, which is great for flowers but a bit more challenging for wildlife o the move.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/640 sec, f/8.0, ISO 400

For more images like this, please visit my website (images are available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com