This Great Blue Heron was caught in the light at the crack of dawn. This kind of light provides a high-contrast image with perhaps, as a downside, more noise in the dark background as a trade-off.

Canon 7D with the 500L f4 lens with 1.4II Extender on a monopod @ 1/1000, f5.6, ISO 400, +2 1/3 exposure compensation.

Cropped to decenter for composition purposes. The usual digital treatment of contrast, colour, sharpening, a bit of noise reduction for the background, etc.

Cheers,

Mike

Postscript

A congratulatory greeting is hereby sent to a friend and world-renowned nature photographer from across the Atlantic for his recent wedding. The old fart knows who he is! ;-)

EXPOSITION d'art champêtre: Village en arts, le 6, 7 et 8 juillet, 2012 sous les chapiteaux dans le parc Le Picart et rue De l'Entente du quartier Saint-Nicolas à Lévis.