Yellow Crown N Heron does food
and food in these parts is crabs!
I saw this very good looking bird. Second time I had seen him, I had no idea what he was til I got home. From my book he has to be a Yellow Crowned Night Heron. As an alert fisherbird, he is very good looking. Much better looking than the "reg" night heron I am used to.
Here he is...........
Everyone is doing it here (if they are not enjoying the arts of our local Spoleto festival)..........Blue Crabs are a staple here in the low country. A short way from where the birds were "crabbing", a boy showed me his catch.
What the excitement is all about:
People use raw chicken parts to lure them into their traps. The boy had just caught this one, he threw it back as it was too small. He had a bucket with others in water. They are cooked, uh, live.......to dead. A small amt of meat in each one is eaten like lobster...with melted butter. Or other sauce. And there are other recipes, but the raw to dead one is basic!
The birds don't mess with the cooking.
I thought, from a distance, that it looked like he was flipping it like Harry's birds do. But here, I am guessing that the crab was flipping him. And somehow it got the shell off.
Below: I went for a tighter crop!
He took it into the marsh grass and came out with a shelled crab?
Having eaten, a good shake was next:
And cruising right along looking for the next meal
While further away................another heron, another crab......
While seagulls tried to get some of the action, or some of the crab:
And that was that for the crabs and me yesterday (bill's camera, before repair estimate........breakfast for the birds was Blue Crab)
Sorry for posting so many, I have never gotten food shots before, not really. And these can't compare to others, but I didn't want to crop tighter. I was using the 400. The exposure was so good, very little post was needed. Plenty of light to stop action.
ginger
I saw this very good looking bird. Second time I had seen him, I had no idea what he was til I got home. From my book he has to be a Yellow Crowned Night Heron. As an alert fisherbird, he is very good looking. Much better looking than the "reg" night heron I am used to.
Here he is...........
Everyone is doing it here (if they are not enjoying the arts of our local Spoleto festival)..........Blue Crabs are a staple here in the low country. A short way from where the birds were "crabbing", a boy showed me his catch.
What the excitement is all about:
People use raw chicken parts to lure them into their traps. The boy had just caught this one, he threw it back as it was too small. He had a bucket with others in water. They are cooked, uh, live.......to dead. A small amt of meat in each one is eaten like lobster...with melted butter. Or other sauce. And there are other recipes, but the raw to dead one is basic!
The birds don't mess with the cooking.
I thought, from a distance, that it looked like he was flipping it like Harry's birds do. But here, I am guessing that the crab was flipping him. And somehow it got the shell off.
Below: I went for a tighter crop!
He took it into the marsh grass and came out with a shelled crab?
Having eaten, a good shake was next:
And cruising right along looking for the next meal
While further away................another heron, another crab......
While seagulls tried to get some of the action, or some of the crab:
And that was that for the crabs and me yesterday (bill's camera, before repair estimate........breakfast for the birds was Blue Crab)
Sorry for posting so many, I have never gotten food shots before, not really. And these can't compare to others, but I didn't want to crop tighter. I was using the 400. The exposure was so good, very little post was needed. Plenty of light to stop action.
ginger
After all is said and done, it is the sweet tea.
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http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
If the extender had been on................ but the focus wouldn't have been as fast.
Interesting how many people, birds and who knows what else, are "fishing" for crabs right now. They are very good, but pretty when alive, too.
As usual, I can see the action much better in the photos than I could in person.
I probably should try a very tight crop with my favorite one, fourth photo down. It does require a bit of photoshop, or that one did.
ginger
Thanks, Rain, I went to the Old Pitt Street bridge early yesterday morning, got there about 7:30 AM. Birds must have slept in, or the tide may not have been right yet, they didn't show up until about 9 or so (AM). These shots were all on the harbor side of the old bridge. There are often birds there, but I have never seen them crabbing before. Cool experience! Before they started crabbing there were no birds, a few Red winged black birds, I had never seen it so birdless.
I wanted to get a Heron In Flight, actually anything in flight...........that is why I got all these fishing shots. That is my assumption anyway!
I did, finally get some birds in flight, enough to prove to myself that I could still do it, but I had to go to Shem Creek for those. And the person there shook his fist at me to leave. I didn't do it, just sat on the hood of my car while they unloaded the shrimp boats that had just come in. I picked off a good blue heron and felt good about that. Got a few egrets, too.
I appreciate your post. I like knowing that the colors are unusual, nice, or whatever. The water is not oily, but it is a strange depth and one can often see through to the bottom which gives an interesting effect. I have some Little Blues I shot while I was shooting the crabbing herons, I will try to post a couple, or something, so watch for it. They were closer and the water effect is even more apparent.
The main thing I did in photoshop was to do no harm. In other words, I did not do anything to the water. I see that there are lots of reflections. That probably lends to the oily look. I routinely used a bit of LAB, needed to set the black and the white points. Plus a bit with the A and B curves, but just a bit.
On the first shot, it looks a little drab to me. I would guess that I quit doing anything after LAB except to sharpen it, the others I boosted the saturation by another 15, and a few other small things, but did nothing with the water except as it was a part of the photo.
ginger
I got run out of Middleton Stables this morning so don't feel too badly about having someone shake their fist at you. This woman at the stables was particularly bi$&hy, if you know what I mean.
Anyway I ended up back at Magnolia and had a really nice walk along the river (where I did get a decent close up of a GBH.. see my thread).
I am unfamiliar with the Pitt Street Bridge.
Dick.
Thomas Fuller.
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Saurora, no he is not very big, but his less stocky than I expected. And he is not terribly small. The tri-color Herons are about the same size.
I just put in a more contrasty (popped?) version of the first shot, and I cropped another one and put it in, took the first version of that one out.
Thanks for stopping and commenting.
Yes, Saurora, I was still shooting until I talked to Canon. Then my focus shifted. I have Bill's camera this week, and I am not shooting much. Next week he needs his camera back on at least tues wed and thurs.
ginger (there should be a smilie for just waking up)
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