While photographing Pelicans with my 1000mm set up on the morning of July 29, 2015, at Ridgefield, Wa., a Great Blue Heron flew by at a perfect angle to the sun. My instinct was to just, “shoot and ask questions later,” even with the 2x extender on my 500mm lens. I already had the camera settings such that the white pelicans would not be blown out, so that turned out to be good for this heron, too. The 2x really does a number on AF speed and accuracy and is never my ‘go to’ set up for flight shots. But I couldn’t just pass up the shot. The clear background (assisting the AF) and relatively slow speed of the bird were in my favor here. Best viewed large!
Canon 5D Mark III, 1/2000, f8, ISO 640, 1000mm, 7:20 a.m.
