On a warm October day, my boyfriend and I went to Canyon Lake with my new equipment. I had just bought a new Nikon D7500 and Sigma 150-600mm lens. We were down there for about 5 minutes and realized just how nice out it was, especially for the middle of October. Last minute, we rushed back home to load up our kayaks and headed back to the lake.
Right when I got across the lake, I spotted a Great Blue Heron gracefully wading across the water. Before this day, I had wanted to get a picture of this magnificent bird but could never get close enough without scaring it away. With my new lens, I was able to keep a safe distance and let the bird fish for awhile.
I eventually got too close to this heron too, and it flew off. I was satisfied with the amount of pictures I was able to capture already, and we had only been on the kayaks for 10 minutes. I couldn't wait to keep looking for more birds/wildlife to photograph.
'Wading Heron' by
(Jonni DuBray) DuBray Photography
Finding the Female Wood Duck
After the Great Blue Heron flew off, I wasn't expecting anything great to happen. I saw this female wood duck just above the water, and decided to head over to investigate.
I kept my kayak a good distance away from the duck, and noticed she was standing on a rock right below the water's surface. The sun was shining in this spot perfectly through the trees, sunning her wings. She was standing on one leg, creating this yoga type of pose. The water was mostly calm, except for some light wind rippling the water. The background behind her was a variety of shades of green from the plants and moss and reflection on the water.
The circumstances could not have been better for this photograph, but I didn't appreciate it as much at the time. I knew I had great pictures, but I was more excited about my Great Blue Heron pictures. When I went back to edit them later, I was in complete awe over this wood duck. To this day, it is still one of my favorite photos I have taken.
'The Duck Pose' by (Jonni DuBray) DuBray Photography
Growing as a photographer
This photo helped me see how much I have grown with photography. It really is all about practice with your camera to perfect your skill.
My advice: Always stop to take the picture if you see something, even if they don't turn out like you had hoped. I have a thousand pictures of this same duck, but only a few that I liked.
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