An Evening Photograph

So I was sitting on a convenient granite rock. It was the perfect size of rock to make a good chair. My camera was adjusted, leveled, and focused on a Green Heron. I've taken several pictures of Green Herons, but I'm trying to get a better one. There's an old saying in photography when it comes to shooting wildlife: There's no substitute for getting closer. 

I have a telephoto lens, but this evening I was able to get quite close to this particular Heron - closer than I have in the past. I was concentrating on getting the focus. Whenever I shoot telephoto, the slightest movement (even a breeze) can introduce motion blur. I really wanted to get a crisp picture. I was trying to be very quiet and still. I had to be very careful with every move I made 'lest I scare the bird away.

Okay, let's leave me there for a moment. You probably visualize me wearing camouflage clothing somewhere in the wilds of Northern California. Wrong. I was in a trailer park in Shasta Lake City. It's a retirement community near my home, and there are two ponds there with ducks and geese. As I have found, there are also lots of other birds and animals. It is perfect for photography. There are shorebirds, waterfowl, fly catchers, hawks, even otters. When I go there to take pictures, I really try hard to not disturb the birds and animals there. 

So, jumping back to my photographic opportunity, this little Heron saw a fish near the shore and he was getting ready to catch him. My finger was on the shutter release button. Just then I heard a jarring sound, tromping down a small hill with a barking dog, one of the trailer park's older residents calling out to me saying: "I'm a nature photographer too! What kind of lens do you have there? What are you taking a picture of, a frog?" 

I responded as politely as I could that I was taking pictures of birds, but not anymore. The Heron had flown up into a tree, and it was now well hidden. I must admit that I was a bit miffed to say the least. But then it dawned on me that I was in this man's trailer park. He lived there, not me. He didn't disturb my peace on purpose. So I calmly explained to him what I was doing, and in a short while he and his dog walked away. 

As it turned out, the Heron returned in a short while. After all, he had to eat. He wasn't going to give up easily. In the end, I got some pictures and the Heron got a fish. And I didn't lose my temper, for which I am very grateful. We have to learn to cut people some slack occasionally. I'm happy about how everything turned out.

Here is one of the pictures I took of the Heron. 

Click Photo to Enlarge