This image of a Tri-colored Heron was taken from the rookery at the Alligator Farm in Saint Augustine, Fl. Wonderful area to photograph birds, nesting area is very close to boardwalk. You can purchase an annual pass which gives you the privilege of early entry into the park and staying until sunset. So much activity here during mating season. There is an annual birding festival in April each year. Many opportunities to join other photographers in the field. I cloned out some vegetation and cropped to try and get a stronger image. These chicks are playing waiting for mom to bring back some food. It is amazing to see how much they grow in a very short amount of time. When first born, they can just about hold there heads up, they just flop around the nest. Within weeks they are violently attacking mom for food. Processing: crop, straighten, saturation, hue, contrast, darken, sharpen.
Nikon D500, ISO-200, Speed 1/640th, F13, Focal Length 200mm, Lens was an Nikkor 70-300.
11 comments posted
Karen Harris
Just awesome. I wish I had taken this. Posted: 10/10/2025 19:21:10
Kathy Buckard
Thank you, they are ugly but cute in their own way. Posted: 10/13/2025 11:17:35
Bob Legg
Very beautiful image, the chicks aren't looking quite beautiful yet. During Spring you had plenty of activity to photograph. Years ago we were there during early February and no chicks then. I like the edits you performed and some will knock you out of Nature, but that's not to worry about here. I can't come up with any more suggestions or edits. Posted: 10/12/2025 02:06:27
Kathy Buckard
Timing is everything when visiting the Aligator Farm. We usually wait until mid April to catch some of the babies. Sometimes we even see some of the spoonbills fledgling,(learning to fly) as they seem to be the first to hatch. Posted: 10/13/2025 11:16:12
Bob Wills
Thanks, Kathy. Great capture of two very homely herons. Eyes are really sharp, which is a prerequisite quality. Hard to compete with this lens, though. If you cannot enter it into a nature or wildlife competition, maybe you can simulate a blurred background. Obviously I'm not a nature photog. Gear costs too much, and is way too heavy. Posted: 10/12/2025 13:37:15
Kathy Buckard
I like how you blurred the background. Did you use the blur tool or another method? Posted: 10/13/2025 11:11:58
Bob Wills
Thank you, Kathy. I duplicated the layer, then used select object twice to get the birds, inverted the selection and added a Gaussian Blur. Posted: 10/14/2025 19:34:20
Tim Sanders
Great timing Kathy and a well captured image. Bob's blurred background works really well. As previously mentioned the edits would preclude it from the Nature category but I think it has enough appeal and impact to do well as an Open Color category pic. Posted: 10/13/2025 21:19:47
Elaine Miller
I like your original edit, but you could try to darken the green on the lower right side. Great capture! Posted: 10/20/2025 16:38:13
Kathy Buckard
I agree with you, I did not go dark enough. Posted: 10/21/2025 23:29:20
Judy Burr
Great catch and title! I like Bob's blurred background too. I think the image would do well in PID and in nature with less processing. That is a great place to photogarph and I wish I could go back. Posted: 10/24/2025 20:32:01
