Another Great Blue Heron...

Taken the same evening as the last GBH shot I posted, this heron flew right by in front of where I was standing at the Edmonds Marsh wildlife preserve in Edmonds, WA.

For the camera-ophiles that are curious - This time, I managed to have a bit more light, and the image was captured at ISO1600, f/5.6, and 1/1600 second, using a 300mm f/2.8L lens (with IS mode 2 on), and a 2x teleconverter. As a consequence of the slightly higher shutter speed than my previous post, this image is very sharp at full magnification.

I really like shooting images of birds either at dawn or at dusk. With the sun near to the horizon, you see some illumination under the bird, and it is possible to get back-lit feathers, both of which make for a better photo. When the sun is high in the sky and so are the birds, it seems as though you are more likely to capture the darkly illuminated underside of the bird against a bright sky - an even bigger problem when light overcast or thin clouds fill the sky!