Monday, January 19, 2015

A fair feather friend

First I want to thank all you lovely people who came by and left words of comfort and support on my previous post - they were much appreciated. I hope you'll excuse me for not having come by lately but my motivation was lacking. I'd always considered myself a fairly strong individual but Sasha's passing struck me (and my wife) particularly hard. I'm sure (or at least I've been assured) that time softens the sharp edges but for now some of the lustre has gone from the thought of going out on a photo shoot, alone. However, I still try to follow the ABCs of photography when we go out.

And so, recently we spent an afternoon on Boca Grande. The promised forecast of some sun and 'warmish' temperatures didn't materialize but I did meet an interesting fellow on the beach who had positioned himself closely behind a couple of fishermen. Unfortunately I had only taken a wide angle lens (17-40mm) vs the whole arsenal and so I had to rely on the stealth approach. You might imagine how hard that would be on a wide open beach. He seemed intent on watching the fishermen (in vain it turns out) for a scrap of fish to be thrown his way so I made it to within about 10' (3m for you metric types) of him before he decided I had encroached sufficiently on his margin of comfort. I had been taking some shots during my approach in case my next step would cause him to take flight.

At the 10' mark, however, he took a step away every time I took a step closer until he ended up standing in shallow water. And that's where he drew a 'line in the sand' apparently for when I tried to narrow the gap between us one more time he decided to leave for safer ground. I did manage to get a few shots of his getaway (which I cropped due to my focal length limitations). Check him out below.

where the 'stand-off' took place

arrivederci

22 comments:

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh I know how hard it is to lose your companion,Sasha was a beautiful dog. Beautiful photos of a warm place:) Hug B

Anonymous said...

beautiful and elegant bird. nice pictures Rick!

Bethany Carson said...

Very nice photos!

S. Etole said...

Powerful imagery.

Linda said...

Awesome captures, Rick, and what a splendid bird. They are not easy to get in flight...well, not for myself, anyway. Thanks so much for sharing. :)

Pamela Gordon said...

Great captures. Stealth is the key but the birds are so wary of danger. You did well.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Beautiful pictures. These particular birds don't like me and I have yet to get what I consider a good shot of a Great Blue Heron. Oh well,I will keep on trying.

Stephanie said...

It is one day at a time when losing a pet. Sasha was a beautiful dog. Gorgeous images of the heron!

Teté M. Jorge said...

I'm sorry for Sasha, honey! I hope that gradually your mood improves.
That most precious friend! It was worth a stroll for photos.
A sweet beijo and a warm hug of friendship.
Love.

darlin said...

Rick you sure know how to work magic with any type of lens you carry. These are impressive shots, it's cute the way the heron made a boundary line and stuck to it, sure showed you eh?

Again I'm so sorry to hear about Sasha, the movie title just came into my mind "All Dogs Go to Heaven"... I'm going to chose to believe this is true, they definitely have spirits, kind loving spirits.

Joke (Joke's Camera) said...

Tja, en dat is mij nou nog nooit gelukt .... een wegvliegende reiger te fotograferen. Hier zijn ze minder schuw, denk ik. Mooie serie, Rick. Ik begrijp best dat er elke dag tijdens je fototochten steeds die lege plek naast je is. Dat kan ook niet anders na zoveel jaar. Groetjes uit Nederland, Joke

Marty said...

hello Rick ! j'espère que tu vas mieux Sasha est dans ton coeur pour toujours
Je crois qu'il faut te dire que tu as eu beaucoup de chance de l'avoir pour compagnie durant de longues années !
c'est ce que je me dis aussi depuis que ma chienne est partie !
tu as repris ton appareil et c'est cool! tes photos sont superbes et l'oiseau qui s'envole est magnifique.
je te souhaite de belle journées Rick
et je t'envoie des bisous de France

Unknown said...

Your new site background is awesome!

Helma said...

Hoi Rick,

deze reiger heb je prachtig in beeld gebracht. Hij is scherp, helder en zijn tekening in de veren komt echt prachtig tot zijn recht. Het opvliegen en wegvliegen heb je heel mooi in beeld gebracht. Top!

Groetjes, Helma

Unknown said...

Hi Rick, I love your work and would like to discuss the possibility of purchasing the rights to one of your photographs. Please contact me at maurie.barrett@rogers.com
-Maurie

cath said...

Magnifique ces photos!

Lea said...

Rick, I'm sorry to hear about Sasha. I am a genuine dog lover, I've never lived without a dog since I was kid. I know the feeling of losing a pet, pets are family, too.I can imagine Sasha soaring and gliding up in the sky with the birds.

magda said...

Αγαπητέ μου φίλε,
Επειδή τον Δεκέμβριο (Χριστούγεννα και Πρωτοχρονιά) είχα τα παιδιά με την εγγονή μου Μάγδα στο σπίτι, δεν πλησίασα καθόλου το κομπιούτερ και δεν ήξερα ότι "έφυγε" η Σάσα.
Θέλω να σου εκφράσω την βαθιά μου λύπη.
Καταλαβαίνω πόσο σας λείπει...Όμως, αφού υπέφερε, είναι πιο καλά δίπλα στον Θεό.
Ο χρόνος θα απαλύνει τον πόνο σας...
Υπέροχες οι φωτογραφίες σου, άλλωστε είσαι μεγάλο φωτογραφικό ταλέντο!
Θαύμασα την εξαιρετική φωτογραφία σου με το φθινοπωρινό φύλλο!
Σας στέλνω την αγάπη μου και την συμπάθεια μου!

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Beautiful series of a magnificent bird! Those feathers are stunning.

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hello greetings and good wishes.

I am very sorry to read about Sasha.

Your photos are amazing and it is interesting to read the pains you took to take these lovely photos.The photo of the bird in flight is awesome. You have a magnificent skill in photography.

Best wishes

Katherine said...

Wow Rick these pics are magnificent.

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