About This Picture

This picture was taken at Westlake Park, a few blocks from where I lived in Santa Cruz, California. I visited this pond often, and photographed this great blue heron, a local resident, regularly, from a very young age through maturity. At this pond, children and unleashed dogs would often chase after this heron; however, when I was photographing it, I would keep the children and dogs at bay. Over time, the heron came to associate me with safety, and would fly to me whenever I would visit, landing progressively closer as it grew older. For this picture, the great blue heron landed about four or five feet from me, and I had to back up to fit its entire head in the frame to take the shot.

Canon 1Ds, 600 mm f/4 IS lens with 2x teleconverter.