Grey heron flying with a big catch

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Swaroopsankar Sivadasan

Swaroopsankar Sivadasan

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I normally spot grey herons catching tiny fish from the banks of small ponds and freshwater in the local parks. On this day I spotted this grey heron in the middle of the pond and thought there is something interesting going to happen. I set my tripod at almost the tip of the shore of the pond and waited for ~30 minutes. But nothing happened and I was getting so much attention of the people around, so I did the inevitable thing. Closed the tripod and put it aside, removed the lens hood and took the lens cap from my pocket by turning away from the sighting. Suddenly I heard the sound of water splashing behind me and when I looked back the heron has got what it was waiting for the last 30 minutes. A giant fish! It paused for a moment after the catch showing the pride moment to everyone and suddenly flew into the wind as in my capture below. I was not facing the direction of the wind and only managed to get a couple of usable frames before starting to capture the butt of the bird.

I learned three things from this day.
  1. Don't turn your back to the sighting.
  2. Always be ready for the moment you are after and anticipate that moment to unfold at any time.
  3. Always try to position yourself in the direction of the wind, not against it.
Equipment used and Exposure info -
  1. Camera Body - Nikon D500
  2. Lens - Nikkor 200-500 VR
  3. Focal Length - 500 mm
  4. F Stop - 5.6
  5. Exposure mode - Manual with Auto ISO
  6. Shutter Speed - 1/3200
  7. ISO - 1100
Let me know your thoughts and suggestions on this.
Best,
Swaroop
_DSC5025.jpg
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