Dense fog and a Great Blue Heron in flight – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 800, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light
I accept that not every day in the field is going to be, pardon the pun, picture perfect but almost every trip taken to look for birds to photograph is better than staying home. Some days when I head out into the field to look for birds to photograph I find great lighting conditions and on others the clouds might hang over me all morning or afternoon long and cause poor and challenging lighting situations.
But I am who I am and who that is is someone who will try to make the best of what I have even when that is a fog so dense that I can barely make out the shape of my subject in it.
At the end of January I was met with what was probably the foggiest conditions I had ever seen on the auto tour route of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. That morning there were Great Blue Herons close to the road that weren’t completely made invisible by the droplets of moisture suspended in dense curtains over the marsh.
The herons that were standing on the shelf ice were somewhat of a challenge to photograph in the thick fog.
Great Blue Heron on the wing in heavy fog – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 800, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light
When I saw the shape of a Great Blue Heron flying towards me through the murk of the heavy fog I knew I wanted to try and photograph it just to test my skills and my gear.
I hoped in that moment that I’d be able to lock onto the Great Blue Heron while it was in flight and take a few photos of it as it flew past. I was able to lock onto the flying Great Blue Heron despite the gloom and low light conditions and I am pleased with the resulting images.
Landing Great Blue Heron in foggy conditions – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 800, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light
When I look at these photos of the large heron in flight in the fog I believe they convey a mood that photos taken in better light simply would or could not have.
These Great Blue Heron images also help me to “see” what this species would have looked like as they lived their lives in primordial swamps, estuaries and marshes hundreds of thousands of years ago. There are times that I wish I could be a time-traveler and head back to a time before humans started mucking up this planet, photos such as these are as close as I can get to that.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Great Blue Heron photos plus facts and information about this species.
P.S., We are finally having a real, freaking, honest to goodness snow storm this morning! I shouldn’t be so excited about a snow day but I am!
Magnificent! Congratulations on your persistence.
Spectral, quiet and incredibly beautiful shots. Thanks Mia.
Simply stunning.
Enjoy your snow day.
I think these are gorgeous photos. But I like fog too.
He does look a little prehistoric! 😉 I agree with Jane — that second shot is really something!
Enjoy your snow today! 🙂
That middle photo is outstanding in its gesture, in my opinion.
Unique and magnificent! Well done!
There is something about images taken in fog that get to me in a positive way. Love them.
Mia, I always admire your determination. These shots are a great test of your Nikon D500’s autofocus system! It worked well!