This is not meant to be an anthology of my all of my Great-blue Heron images.  Too many of this species for that. The pictures below were all made at just two nests in one Illinois rookery.  Despite the similarity of images taken at this location, most have never been shown before.

The reason for showing an entire post of heron pix from one rookery?  Partially it is because I had them handy in a single folder and I think rookery shots are cool. The other reason is that it is one way for a photographer to display a subject.  I certainly could have chosen the image that I thought said the most about Great-blue Herons in general or just this rookery.  I have done that many times.  I could have used images of a variety of Great-blue Herons in different locations, doing different things.  That would be typical for me. Showing several photos of just two nests at one rookery, with every image different but with only slight variations, is a photographic concept designed to allow the viewer to become  a part of a subject, such as a GBH family.  It is not a new idea. I remember a group (around 10) of small 5×7 prints of a coyote family on a museum wall in Denver many years ago.  They were all taken within a five-minute period of time. This is my showing of 5×7 prints.  Unfortunately on this blog I cannot arrange them in the fashion in which I would display them on a wall.  They pretty much have to be straight up and down.

I was reflecting on just how much nature photography has changed during the years I was involved.  Auto focus and auto exposure.  Dedicated auto flash. Most of all from film to digital. Those things effect all photographers but nature photography has had even more changes.

I remember when if you saw a picture made in North America of a Bobcat, Mountain Lion or a Lynx, you could bet money it was made in captivity.  Except for a few photographers like Wisconsin’s Stephan Kraseman who literally lived in the wild a year at a time, getting those pictures in the wild was unlikely.  Now I see Bobcat pictures every day by unknown photographers. I see Mt. Lion shots three or four times a month by non-professional photographers.  These are truly wild images. There are so many photographers in the field today, that the odds are with us (as a group) that someone will come across a wild cat that will cooperate almost every day.  Also the human population has exploded and the encroachment on wildlife has become so common that they have often gotten used to humans. That will usually bring eventual death to that animal.

I remember the first serious images made of Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda.  They were made by Mike Nichols and they were not very good due to his having to live in a wet and miserable rainforest.  Wet cameras and fuzzy images due to low light levels.  Mike lived in misery in the mountain wilderness. Boyd Norton came along and raised the bar.  Better 400 ISO films, and the ability to get some sleep in a cabin at the bottom of the hill. That cabin was still totally crude but better than sleeping in the rainforest. Fast forward to today. Photographers have cameras that can be used effectively at 25,000 ISO.  They can correct mistakes on their laptops.  They live in a lodge with air conditioning, heat, sauna, comfy beds, room service, internet service, gourmet meals and champagne.  I will tell you the truth from my heart, I wouldn’t  even want to go anymore.  Even if I could, my sense of adventure is different from many of today’s photographers

I remember when Antarctica  was almost impossible to do and those who did it took big risks and were few enough in numbers that they could be counted on your fingers. Thousands of photographers go there today and stay aboard  ships with 24 hour a day buffets and stand up comedians.  A wild experience only to be dreamed of (sarcasm).

I never made it to places out of North America.  I did what I did through my own ideas and through my own sense of adventure.  I wouldn’t trade my wilderness experiences in Minnesota, Washington State, Colorado and Arizona for a thousand bottles of champagne or a gourmet meal.  Not even for a good buffet………..sorry I had to think about that last one.

I try to keep everybody aware of new (to me) photographers who are either very good (in my opinion), or are beginning to make some noise in the profession of photography.  Valerie Millet is a photographer, singer/songwriter and painter from California who seems to fit that bill  http://www.facebook.com/valerie.millet

Then there is all around nature photographer/artist/workshop teacher Denise Ippolito http://www.facebook.com/#!/deniseippolito.net

Today’s camera equipment and available software makes it possible to create better images than anytime previous, but good gosh there are certainly a lot of talented image makers out there. In the end that talent will win out.

Have a great day,  Wayne