"To put the world right in order,
we must first put the nation in order;
to put the nation in order,
we must first put the family in order;
to put the family in order,
we must first cultivate our personal life;
we must first set our hearts right." Confusius
My good friend Mike and I have a standing joke between us that anytime we get within a mile of a Great Blue Heron (or any form of wildlife for that matter) we usually get the backside view of the bird when it's flying away. It doesn't matter if we drive up, sneak up or crawl up we definitely get the confirmation of their departure by the sound of flapping wings.
A couple of weekends ago I took a few days for a trip north, camping at Amnicon Falls State Park in Northwestern Wisconsin. While working the area I headed to the port of Superior where there are a good number of wetlands along the shore of Lake Superior and began walking the banks looking for possible subjects for later in the day. The light was harsh, but it was getting towards late afternoon and if I twiddled my thumbs long enough the light would be right.
While I was walking along the edge of a wetland/pond area, not paying much attention to where I was headed, I looked up to find this heron right in front of me. He/she/it looked at me, I blinked several times in amazement and then that internal/external dialogue started. I jokingly said to self and heron..."you know that if I move to get a better angle for a shot you're going to take off, right?" The heron casually strolled in front of me with a kind of "whose this dope" look in its eyes and I shuffled a couple of steps to see if I couldn't get a little ahead of him/her/it. It was then that I caught myself saying..."O.k. I'm going to raise this big Canon bad-boy to my face so you better get your wings set for blast off!" No response from the now inquiring "what the hell" face of the heron.
It was about this time that I was really starting to believe that the good wildlife fairy was sitting on my shoulder and I'd better get serious about the surprise portrait sitting that was just a few feet away. I had a mild tremor to do the Irish jig, but thought that was an unlikely part of the routine of preparation...but it has slipped out in past instances of photographic jubilation.
As the blog image shows, Harvey/Mable/Spot did remain long enough for some serious meditations with the camera, but soon wandered off farther into the marsh and I'm sure he/she/it was checking to see if I had my hip waders on, which I did not. One side lesson to this capture is when confronted by an opportunity to photograph a stationary heron it's usually a good idea to not center the subject like a rank amateur might do. And yes, I do believe I heard a departing comment from the heron concerning my inappropriate composition and background adjustment, but I'll still take this as a prize from the trip north.
For more views of my work visit;
"A Piece Of Work", Spirit Lake, Iowa http://www.apieceofworkinc.com
"Art On 16th" http://www.hankhallarton16th.com
Artisans Road Trip www.artisansroadtrip.com
Lanesboro Art Center, Lanesboro, Minnesota www.lanesboroarts.org
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