"A Great Blue Heron fishes for a snack on Lake Geneva in Lake Geneva, Wisc., Saturday, June 6, 2009."
Finding and capturing moments like this really make my job a treat.
I was sent up to the dairy state earlier this month to shoot a few assignments for a special travel section that we were working on. Apparently Lake Geneva is a hot vacation spot during the summer months. As my luck would have it I got sent up north on a cloudy and rainy day.
I had to shoot some of the local shopping hotspots but there weren't many people shopping. I had to stop by Grand Geneva Golf Resort but there wasn't anyone on the course. I was asked to document the nightlife but it was 8pm and thus nonexistent. I completed my assignments but I'm sure the editors wished that they would have sent me on another day.
On my way to a local dive bar I saw this heron on the side of the road and immediately pulled onto the soft shoulder for a closer look. On a hunch I brought along a 400mm and was really glad I did. I got into the passenger seat, cracked open the door and tied my eye to the bird. There was a stream filtering into the lake where the heron was so I knew it was after some dinner.
I sat uncomfortably with my back leaning against the dash of my trusty Accord for nearly 45 minutes. It was literally like watching paint dry. I had Coldplay jamming to keep me entertained and vowed to pack it up when the album was over. Then, if almost for dramatic effect, on the last song I noticed that it had found something. After walking in a clockwise two foot circle (I'm assuming for positioning), it coiled it's head like a snake and then snapped it into the water, pulling out a little fish. I held steady and ran the motor drive until the buffer in the camera ran out. I scrolled through the pictures and was pumped to see the above image.
Considering that my three assignments were lame this really made my day. To put a cherry on top my mom loves Great Blue Herons and will be really excited to see this image. I'm sure she'll put it on the refrigerator like I'm six again.
-JCE
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