Florida Great Blue Herons are fearless...so different from our Cincy Blues (which I have right now since I had to leave the sunny greens and blues of Captiva to return to the predictable grays of Cincinnati--oh well, so ist das Leben)!
...love these odd angles with unique views of their incredible eyes.
...sunshine and cloudless skies...bathing suits and bare feet...greens, blues and yellows and oranges...
...and deep purple shadows...
...it was wonderful to see Florida colors again.
Incredible images! I can just feel Florida. We'll be back in Florida next month with cameras in hands. ;)
ReplyDelete...lucky, you!!! I can't believe how much I miss it. Every day sunny and warm...every day, crystal clear skies with no clouds. Blue, blue, blue skies...turquoise waters. Ack!
ReplyDeleteWhat a character! I just love your images! They would make a great wall series.
ReplyDelete...thanks, Lois! He was a character. I was standing looking out at the horizon, when he flew up right by me and walked to the surf...then he stayed there and fished!! Crazy...he walked right in front of me. I stood still through the entire encounter and he walked around me and back and forth. He caught several small fish with ease!
ReplyDeleteI thought maybe you all were on vacation. We are gone this next week.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures from sunny Florida... I know you had a great time.
Hugs,
Betsy
What strange, and fabulous, views of a Great Blue H.! I have never seen one from this perspective. Glad, and envious, to hear you had a wonderful trip.
ReplyDeleteJust fabulous shots, Kelly! Would love to get that close to the Great Blues. They are very spooky here.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, but they are gorgeous. Can't wait to see what you photographed. Carol
ReplyDeleteBetsy...I know. I went a long time without posting! by evening I was so tired, so I didn't get to post while on the trip.
ReplyDeleteHilke...thank you! I enjoyed this view also...he went about his business, and I photographed it!
Mona...same here. If you even look at one here they fly away in terror! It seems they can see you blink your eye here, but in Florida, they move in and don't worry if you move out. I guess with all the snowbirds (us) flocking south during the winter they have to be fearless if they want to eat!
Carol...thanks! I saw so many sweet shorebirds. I fall in love with them more every time I see them. The flocks of little Dunlins really caught my heart this year.
Not the usual spring break photos one would expect to see, but definitely far superior! I like your kind of partying. These are fantastic shots of the heron! You must have thought you had died and gone to heaven when he landed next to you.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, Kelly! And welcome back to the land of cold and snow.
ReplyDeleteThere's never enough time at Ding Darling. Great photographs. Would make for some more great paintings!
ReplyDeleteStunning series of portraits of a very obliging individual .. how lucky you were Kelly.
ReplyDeleteSunshine in the southern state and now home to snow ... I bet you wished you could have stayed away for much, much longer. FAB.
He is so dignified and I love the flowing feathers... Your treatment of the background is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly.. Absolutely crazy wild photos!!
ReplyDeleteHow cool is that to just have the Heron just oblige you that way lol
Love the way you put the post and photos together!!
What an interesting series of pictures. The colours are so striking as well as the poses!!
ReplyDeleteThose are some really fantastic shots. Sure makes one feel they are standing right there and seeing the details in person. Great!
ReplyDeleteCher
Goldenray Yorkies
Fantastic photos!
ReplyDeleteLove love love the pics! Lovely portraits, VERY unique and eye-catching angles! What strikes me is that if you don't look at the neck, that heron head almost looks like a fish itself! Maybe I'm just being fanciful, but I won't be looking at herons the same now! ;)
ReplyDeleteWow! These are terrific. Glad you had fun too.
ReplyDeleteSome of the neatest heron shots ever—love the angles. And the colors…you know it isn't Ohio at first glance! Really great!
ReplyDeleteFabulous shots!
ReplyDeleteI am so envious of your trip!
It's still being all winter-like here in MI too, and since the calendar says it's supposed to be spring - I am SO READY to move on to warmer weather!
The warmth & the sunny atmosphere really shows through in the pics!
That's an amazing set of pictures. It's unbelievable how that guy was so "cooperative" and no shy at all.
ReplyDeleteWe have in the summer blue herons here, but they are extremly shy and without a hide you have no chance to get so close. Congratulations, it's a really nice series!
Now those are "up close and personal".....I Loved them all!
ReplyDeleteYou can definitely feel the warmth radiating from those shots! Love your blue and all the angles!
ReplyDeleteElaine...I did! I was so surprised...I also got a good look at how sharp and strong looking the bill was!
ReplyDelete...thanks, Roy! It's snowing right now...oh well! :-)
NC...thank you! I want to go back just to visit Ding Darling all day in Jan or Feb. The Spoonbills had already taken off for their rookery up near Tampa. :-(
Frank...I wanted to stay sooooo much longer. it was really hard to leave (and depressing too), but at least we had the five days.
Margaret...thank you! Mother Nature and the camera took care of the background...I didn't do anything. I did try different angles to get the different colors, though...
...thanks, Grammie! When a great Blue flies up and lands 6 feet from you it's easy! :-)
...thanks, Cicero. I miss the ocean and the birds so much. They were so amazing.
Dean...thank you!
Cher....thanks!!
Lynette...thanks!
Nicole...thank you! I think you're right. They eye is very fishy. We don't normally see it that way, but it protrudes a lot when you see it at the right angle.
Timaree...thank you! I had so much fun...
Grizz...you can say that again. Do you even remember what that color of blue looks like in Cincy? When we left it was gray and when we returned it was gray... The blue will start returning soon though...spring!!!
Sarah...I'm so ready for spring too. I can see it's snowing outside now, so I'm not going to hold my breath!
Andor...in our town the herons are incredibly shy. Flying away at the slightest sound. I guess in Florida the herons learn to live with people if they want to eat. So many of us snowbirds walk the beach with them...
thanks, Janice!! :-)
...thanks, Laure...oh those Florida blues and greens...so smooth and warm! :-)
Awesome Shots Kelly! I look forward to seeing all your other photos from this trip!
ReplyDelete...thanks, Dawn! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow great shots Kelly, so unusual angles as well.
ReplyDeleteWow! Just love these photos!
ReplyDelete...thanks, Roy and Caroline!
ReplyDelete