78 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
IMAGE DOCTOR
AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY + DIGITAL JULY 2015Patience pays off
Peter Jackson explains how lucky he was when he came across
this male Nankeen Heron (Night Heron) at a boat ramp in
North Geelong, Victoria. “He was only interested in the fish
being gutted at the sluice, and was extremely timid. This
was the first time in 35 years visiting this area I have seen a
Night Heron, and I haven’t seen him since. It was drizzling
and it took a long time to get close enough to produce this
photo through a game of advance and wait. When he f lew off
and returned to the pillar, I would gradually advance a little
closer, shuff ling along on my butt, soaked to the skin. Thank
Olympus for its quality camera bodies! Eventually I got a
fantastic series photos of this gorgeous bird.” I’m impressed
with your dedication, and this is a lovely and rare image of a
beautiful bird in action. You’ve filled the frame well with the
bird and wing – a feat in itself – with the bonus of a strongsense of action with the blur. The exposure is good and the
colour is lovely. While this would have been closer to a perfect
shot if the head of the bird were 100 per cent sharp (you could
increase the ISO to get a faster shutter speed as 1/320s is a little
slow for shooting at 200mm focal length) you have nevertheless
achieved an excellent result. This is such a difficult subject to
photograph, and you’ve done well. Congratulations!SA I M A’S T I P: Action and nature photography generally
requires a lot of time and concentration for the best return.TITLE Night Heron
PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter Jackson
DETAILS:. Olympus E3 @ 200mm focal length, 1/320s
@ f/3.5, ISO 200 (and one very wet photographer!)THIS MONTH’S WINNER!
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