Louisiana Heron at nest within Giant Leather Fern
Most of us enthusiastic photographer types have far too many images buried in our digital folders and files, many of which for better or worse, languish unattended to until they are rediscovered looking something else. Always when I go shooting I am inherently attracted to certain images I work on right away. Sometimes a new species I’ve never shown before or just something of a wonderful pose that cried out from the get go and which occupied my thinking at that moment with all else ultimately forgotten. I find I will leave an image unattended when I have shown many of the same bird already, especially the Egretta tricolor which has admittedly filled my viewfinder many times. So scrolling through, this Louisiana Heron standing at its nesting area buried within a Giant Leather Fern caught my attention. Guess I am a true “bird nerd” as I like the textures and colors with this setting as the bird makes its way through such tight quarters. The ruby eye caught by the westerly light and the same backlighting on the green fronds at its neck makes for a pretty portrait of this diminutive heron in its mating colors.
♦
A closer up view for convenience of detail of the Louisiana Heron and backlit Giant Leather Fern fronds.
A Very Special Memorial Day to everyone as we remember our warriors who gave so much.
Judy
Janthina Images - Photo Journal 
Beautiful photo! ❤️
Thanks so much John for stopping by to look at the heron and a nice comment too!! Appreciated!
Another bird which does not come North to our area. Your photo is another amazing capture, Judy. I like the composition, the herons’ pose, its colors, and those ruby red eyes!
I am definitely very lucky to have the array of beautiful herons we do have here in South Florida. I have always been attracted to the wading birds even before I started taking pictures of them. Once I started and became enthralled with the feather detail, I really began to appreciate the beauty and accuracy of Audubon’s drawings. Makes me happy that I can see exactly what he saw so long ago. Cool, eh?
Great work.
Much appreciated thank you. 🙂
I love these photos! Glad you’re airing them. But I know what you mean of the bulk of photos not used. I now crop a batch at each edit specifically for use of wallpaper on the laptop, and set them for a slideshow. That slideshow changes mostly on a weekly basis, and as most of the photos are flowers, trees, landscapes, I’m constantly reminded of the changing face of the natural world. Plus I get to view the photos at my leisure.
Utilizing photos as wallpaper or slideshow for review is a great idea. You get to see what the image really looks like full screen that way and I think it is good to have a format for enjoying favourite images too. It puts them to use as well!!
Yea, I was thinking of putting a season’s collection together on a USB stick and giving to daughters as part of their birthday presents.
I’m having a whee of a time going through my archives and ditching photos by the dozen. It’s amazing how much I’ve improved in the past six years. Some early ones I’ll keep: mostly travel photos from places I’ll not likely return to. But flowers, trees, and such? If I have better ones, there’s no need to keep the bad. (And I mean bad. It doesn’t bother me at all to acknowledge how truly bad some were!)
But this is good. I always love your birds, but this fern is something else. I love both views. I think of ferns as delicate, but this seems quite sturdy. The heron almost looks like it’s using the fern as support, just as we’d snuggle into a nice reading chair. I do love your way of capturing these birds in such a “home-y” way.
Well it is definitely a learning process. Funny thing about earlier pictures in one’s photographic journey is that along with the bad images you will have a few favourites which will endure despite having been taken with a less capable camera or having been taken when the photographer was less experienced too. Interesting the way it works sometimes. You will have some you can’t part with but then be ruthless with the rest. Like I am, right!!!!! I still remember when shooting three 36 negative rolls was an absolute indulgence. Now we pay on the other side by sheer hard drive space and the need for faster and faster computer processing.
I will have to provide a bit more info on the leather ferns I guess via a post on them. They are large clumps of fern plants, very leathery looking tops and dusty cinnamon underneath spore surfaces. The live in shallow watery areas and are in the glades, wetlands and cypress swamps here in Florida. The ones at the rookery do house numerous heron nests through the season even though the fronds move around in ways that a tree branch doesn’t and seems much less substantial. I think the ferns are neat and I love ferns of all kinds anyway…they seem kind of primal and ancient especially they way those curls unfurl.
These images are so ‘you’ and they deliver the beauty and soul – and your love- of these birds into our own unique worlds. As always, it’s a joy to view your world through your sensitive posts…
Oh no, do I have a predictable style!!! I have to confess to being reliably attracted to certain types of images, plants, colors, poses, and species. I feel I can do the some of the same things over again in the effort to better my best. At least that is what I tell myself!! If you like it, you like it, right?
don’t change a thing! your images capture the beauty, but there is a deeper more-meaningful quality.. most likely your love, respect and admiration for the birds… it’s always a pleasure to see what lovely images you have to share with us!