Several years ago I had good luck photographing a Great Blue Heron fishing in the turbulence under a small dam on a large stream here in Kentucky.

That heron was literally on its last good leg but continued to fish until one day it wasn't there anymore...

Went back today to the same spot and a new bird is there. Got some wonderful opportunities, including a series of flight shots from one bank to the other the length of the dam! Haven't worked any of them up yet, but thought I'd go ahead and put this one out.


GBHE_24Feb2023 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Marshall

Before the Army, in its infinite wisdom, changed my orders and sent me to an engineer outfit in Korea, I was at Fort Gordon Signal School in Georgia, trying to be trained as a radio operator. Had to learn Code as part of it, receive and send.

It was at the stage of the course where we were just good enough to be dangerous, and were learning how a radio network works, with call signs and all that.

Each student had a call sign and a key, and we'd practice sending messages to each other. In hindsight I'm sure it was a part of every class, but at one point the instructor left the room with no further instructions.

Don't remember how long he stayed gone, but it was instant chaos, with each of us trying to get a word in, talking over each other, and getting absolutely nothing sent. Lesson learned!

Marshall

yssirk123, exactly the same reason I don't print borderless either! Don't particularly like the look, also, but if I wanted borderless I'd trim off a bordered print.

Marshall

Tinker, I also print with the Pro 100, and have not had your specific problem, but with the printer I also got a software disc "Canon Print Shop Pro" and from Photoshop under "Automate" the software opens with a window showing the size paper selected and allows the image being worked on to be sized into that window.

Here is a screenshot of a Print Shop Pro window image with similar proportions as yours on 13x19 paper. I never printed borderless but don't see why it wouldn't work.

Marshall

The original post was from about two months ago. I went back Friday and another group was there and I had a chance to get some BIF, in this case Buzzards-in-Flight.

Our local camera club's monthly contest topic for February was HighKey/LowKey, so I pushed some sliders around and got this:


BlackVulture12Feb2023_058 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Those white wingtips sure can be impressive!

Marshall

No, he didn't get away unobserved. Several others flew off after him. Maybe they all shared together when they caught up...lol!

Marshall

Thanks, Mike!

I find crows very interesting, and have been trying to develop a relationship at our place out in the country. Feed them and they will come, I've found.

Marshall

Took a trip into town today and stopped at our local park ponds. Nothing notable there, but later saw this crow flying away from a downtown Georgetown shopping center parking lot. Looks to have been scavenging at one of the numerous fast-food joints nearby...


CrowWithBiscuit_03Feb2023 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Marshall

Maybe you should keep it! Here's a link to the strange world of cereal-box collectors...

https://www.eater.com/2016/2/16/11008926/cereal-box-collections-history


Marshall

tcthome, I feel your pain, lol!

This is in a public park, so I can use my car as a blind, for as long as I want to sit there. Still, I've got to be careful who is there and what I shoot. One time, many years ago, I was watching the GBHE that also frequents this pond and the mother of an autistic boy thought I was taking pictures of him, and called the cops.

Two cars rolled up on me and it took some explaining and their inspection of a card's worth of bad heron shots to convince them of my intentions. Nevertheless, bad judgement on my part, and I've been much more careful since then. Should have driven off at first sight of that family. Lesson learned.


Marshall

I've been visiting this small local park pond for many years and the ever-changing photo opportunities there continue to interest me.

Never thought that a full moon would be right there behind one of the kingfisher's usual perching spots in the early morning as I was passing through town. But there it was. A better photographer could have gotten both bird and moon in focus, or stacked images in post, but I settled for this.

KingfisherMoonTwo_07Jan2023 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


One of the good things about going back to familiar places is that you can begin to discover patterns of behavior of the birds. I know where they have been in the past, and they are likely to be nearby in the future. And very probably the same bird!

Marshall

Just worked up a B&W print of this and put it on Flickr. Haven't made up my mind yet on the success of this...thoughts?

CatfishDinnerDispute_09Dec2022_1032AM by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Marshall

I photograph birds with a 100-400 zoom on a Canon 5Dmk4, and second CPO's recommendation for using a lens tripod foot for a hand hold.

For me, rotating the foot to the top of the lens and leaving it there when not using a tripod is the most comfortable. A neck strap provides backup security, and I can grab the foot with either hand and turn the camera and lens to face backwards to tuck it under an arm for walking. Easier to do than describe, lol...

Marshall

BTW, the RSS tripod foot for this lens is a work of art: sculptured with fine radius bevels and feels very good to a hand.

Thanks all for your good comments!

They are certainly entertaining as they fight over scraps. Lots of bluster and intimidation, not any actual damage...

I much prefer photographing Black Vultures over their close relatives, the Turkey ones, mainly because of the visuals of those white wing tips. They have a bad reputation among farmers, however; deserved or not I can't say.

Marshall

Half a dozen or so of these Black Vultures were hanging around our local park pond last Friday.

This "committee" of three were squabbling over a catfish carcass.


SquabblingVultures_09Dec2022_016 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Marshall