There are times as a wildlife photographer when it looks like everything is going to work out perfectly. Your subject, the weather, wind direction etc. all seem to be going your way. There is a little voice in the back of your mind that is jabbering about something, but you’re not paying attention. What could go wrong???
And then reality hits. You picked this spot based on your knowledge of the species you were after and also the anticipated weather conditions. And that was my downfall. I listened to the weatherman again. It just boggles my mind that with all the million dollar equipment they have available they still can’t forecast 12 hours ahead, let alone a whole day!!!
In this case I had set up thinking that I would have high clouds as my background, which would work perfectly with the nesting herons that I was hoping for. It was perfect at first. The birds were there going back and forth, busy building their nest. When the darkness began to fade and the sunrise began to light up the valley, it was absolutely gorgeous. High scudding clouds made a pattern that the sunrise just danced across and lit up beautifully. What a background for the birds! But as fast as that cloud cover showed up, it vanished like a bad dream. There was now a clear blue sky as my background. And what was worse was that when the sun finally popped up over the hill, it would be hitting me right in the face! But I wasn’t giving up yet. Maybe I could salvage something, at least for Facebook
The images that I took were not good. Below is the original image that came out of the camera and I think it needs a little work! Click on the image to enlarge