Oh, if only I had a 400mm lens...

There are probably a lot of little things in there that you can't see,
but the herons are patient hunters. He wouldn't be there if he wasn't
making a profit.

As for the lens, you might be a bit happier with a 500mm or 600mm, if
you really want to photograph birds and wildlife (and you will probably
still want to add a 1.5x or 2x TC to get even closer).

It depends upon how much money you care to invest.

--
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Stan http://www.neworleansphotographs.com

http://www.atneworleans.com
http://www.sbeckart.com/sbeck

 

....I'd be able to snap some pictures of the Great Blue Heron hanging out
at the stream behind my house. Actually, I don't know what he thinks
he's doing, there aren't any fish big enough to warrant his trouble in
the creek. If he keeps coming back, maybe I'll brave the ticks and
setup a blind.

 

400mm? You have a rather large backyard. Of course, with a Heron, you
don't need a blind, as they are largely so, themselves. ;-)

Just keep low, and to the brush, and you can get to atleast 100 feet or so,
I think.

 

Well, technically it isn't my backyard but a strip of grass before the
wetlands. It's like a backyard, but I don't have to mow it!

And I just want 400mm. If you have to go big, go big!

He's about 120 feet from my window as we speak. I could try sneaking up
on him more, but I don't want to spook him just yet.

 

*Our* Great Blues just hang out at any local pond or stream and we can
get within 20 feet of them.
Wow, do we have some great shots of them and the whites in their full
breeding plummage.

I think they are schills and get a cut of photo sales...

LT

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There is a blue that hangs out at a local park that has allowed me
within about 20 feet of him, as long as I didn't move too much he didn't
mind. I have some decent pictures of him stalking fish (he didn't get
any). One of these days I'll have to get a pbase account setup so I can
share them.

 

They like frogs, crawdads and snakes too. Anything they can get down their
throats.

--
dadiOH
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Hey,
why bother with the lens, goto the Zoo and photoshop it
-tom

 

I haven't seen any frogs there, they tend to hang out at a runoff
retention pond about a 1/10 of a mile away. Actually, I haven't seen
him actually go into the stream yet. He seems to prefer this spot for
grooming his plumage.

 

Well, he's doing something, that's for sure!

Well, my budget dictates that I'll probably get a less expensive zoom
lens (probably the Canon 70-200 f/4 L) and a 2x TC. The crop on my 10D
will make the lens a *grabs calculator* 112-320 mm equivalent out of the
box, a 2x will double the reach at the expensive of one stop and
autofocus capability. This should give me a good bit of flexibility for
under a grand.