Story Behind the Photo: Heron’s Gaze

By: Robin D. Collin

This image is part of my series titled, “Birds” which consists of images that are technically challenging for me. I often struggle to get the right shot of a moving animal but I’ve been able to grab a few sweet images of local birds relaxing. This image was taken at another one of my fave local parks. In this moment snapping hundreds of images, I was so excited to finally be able to get close enough to a heron to get detailed shots. Heron are common friends where I live so I see them often but whenever I do catch them at rest I feel like I never have the right camera or my exposure is wrong! Because they like to wade in the riverbanks or edges of bodies of water, you can only get so close on land and in my experience you gotta have the right lens to really get the beauty of the bird. Currently I have an entry level zoom lens and am working on getting a tripod. So this shot was taken by me following this bird around the ponds in the park, sneaking just ever so close to the edge of the pond, moving very slowly, crouching low, and being as still as a statue to avoid the blur of shake and maximizing the capabilities of my entry level zoom lens. Tuh, baybee! Lol It was tricky but so worth it! This image reminds me to be patient, to not be afraid to examine situations from different perspectives, and to have fun in life!