“Waiting with Herons: A Photographer’s Opportunity to Slowing Down – Simple Photography Tips”
- Michael Blyth
- Sep 10
- 6 min read
Five simple photography tips on photographing birds - Waiting with Herons and the need for patience
Consider the Whole Environment — Not Just the bird
beware of distractions in the background
they're not always slow - you need a fast shutter speed to capture their lightning fast strikes
Watch for Unwanted Reflections or Light Spill - good and bad
Look for backgrounds that help composition
Bird watching and bird photography come under the heading of ornithology are an immensely popular theme.
The depth to which people get involves varies, from the occasional to the 'birder'; to those who will leave the warmth of their bed in the pre-dawn hours, grab a flask of something hot and vaguely palatable, and drive halfway across whichever continent they happen to live on, to see and photograph a bird.
Perhaps one that has been driven to the brink of extinction by your activities or mine.
Such persons are called twitchers - or more rudely 'feather-freaks'
We were down on the coast of the UK, and there's a tidal pond, the same one where I photographed the kingfisher used in a post a couple of weeks ago. https://www.michaelblyth.co.uk/post/using-a-teleconverter-on-your-camera-with-simple-photography-tips
Pushing the dog off the bed, my wife and I got up just before dawn and headed out, it looked like a sunny start, and one of us at least was keen on an early morning sea-swim.
The geese had already left, there were a few mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) still snoozing, a handful of teal (Anas crecca) feeding, and a solitary grey heron (Ardea cinerea) slowly wading through the middle of the pond.
I had one of my Nikon Camera's, fitted in case you're interested with a 70-200mm f2.8 and 1.7 teleconverter.
If you have one of the latest iphones or similar, you could still make a good effort, as you will understand in a bit.
The heron is a prime example of the need to stand and wait. If you try approaching, you're more likely to get butt of heron.
They are a bird for whom patience is a must, and it's easy to understand why few people in this day and age have the same patience, they may take an image and move on.
I decided to wait and see what developed, after all, the photograph if it comes at all, comes in waiting, not chasing.
Let's run through these pictures and I'll make a few comments that may help you.
Image one is Harry the Heron wading through the pool, unusual in a way as the majority of environments limit 'hunting' to the edge of a water 'space'. but this particular pool, at low tide, is only half a metre or so deep.
With this image, he's reasonably far away, the light is good-ish, but the dark water at his head, whilst attractive, does mess with the image. I stood as tall as I could, but couldn't quite set head and background apart.
Image Two has the opposite effect from Image One, the reflection that lights up the water, serves to highlight Harry's head (going for alliteration here) and his 'crown'.
By the way, in reality it is very hard to tell male from female in the heron world, so Harry or Harriet.
This image is a bulk-standard Ok image, good quality, but nothing outstanding, but is notable in that he, she, they, have come much closer, and would be an ok target with a 'latest' iphone. But in all honesty, a decent camera and a really good lens is better,
Image Three illustrates the problem that occurs when there is stuff in the way.
In this case it's a bunch of mallard who had woken with the sun, and were fussing around the pond.
The ducks really get in the way, and the depth of field means more in focus, and thus more interference.
Image Four is an example of taking a phone camera to it's limit , but as a 'scenic' shot of a heron in it's environment, it's a good starting point, the head and featuresare pretty good, and the stripes are showing well.
if the water had been dead calm it would have been fun to capture the reflection as well, and would have produced an outstanding image. It's something to look out for if you're in the fortunate position of calm water - and worth pulling back to get the complete reflection.
Skipping down to Image Five, the breeze has stopped for a moment and the reflection is nearly there, and Harry has spotted something beneath the surface - his whole body demeanour has changed - this like the ones that follow are a result of waiting, maybe being bored for a moment or ten,
Image Six is a complete change, he's really quite close to, we are in fact totally exposed, but staying still, and so not in his 'danger zone or awareness'
What's just as significant is that he's changed direction, the sun, although behind a thin layer of cloud, is higher in the morning sky, so he's lit in a real 'portrait' way.
The stepping seen here, and in some of the other images, as he hunts, adds life and motion to the image.
Image
Image Seven, the moment when patience is rewarded, both for the heron, and for the photographer, that moment when the whole creature goes into 'kill-mode' and the beak is just entering the water - important to have a high shutter speed here - on it's way to the prey.
I got it wrong at this point, the shot of the crab, or whatever, was out of focus, but the next image is the Eight, and shows the bird dealing with the bits it doesn't want.
Image Nine is taken at a different location, one where the reeds provide a rather nice backcloth to the heron.
This is a much more common image to be able to capture, but again requires either huge luck, or gentle patience.
Image Ten, that moment captured!
Something has caused Harry II, to take to the wing, and it's an image of almost pre-historic character. What adds so much to the image, despite the flat light, is the water disturbance as the heron takes to the air.
Image Eleven, has caught the heron at the moment when it's wings have reached the bottom of their downward thrust, the air has spread the primary feathers, and the wings are low enough for the head and neck to sit perfectly.
In the UK, the main organisation for those interested is the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), if you're following this from another part of this planet, Birdlife International is the sort of parent network.
Bird photography is a fascinating and very popular activity, and some of the best results can be obatined from bird hides. These enable you to remain unobserved, and in relative comfort.
Below is a list of some of the ornithology groups from around the world - perhaps where you live or travel to - gleaned using AI.
RSPB (UK) – The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, leading conservation and birdwatching at home.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology (USA) – A hub for bird science, apps like Merlin, and global citizen science projects.
Bird Studies Canada – Research and monitoring across Canada’s vast landscapes.
Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS) – Active in conservation, monitoring, and education in Asia.
BirdsCaribbean – Focused on bird and habitat conservation across the Caribbean islands.
Neotropical Bird Club – Covering Central and South America with research and publications.
BirdLife International – A worldwide partnership linking more than 100 national organisations.
FOOTNOTE: I hope this reads Ok, busy week, and I'm spending time tomorrow introducing a group of people to a technique for learning to see the world differently, so apologies if it doesn't scan!
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