K, I was able to get this close because I was in my car (AKA mobile blind). Also, 70mm on my camera's lens equates to 380mm or so on a 35mm (I think.... it's 10x optical zoom, anyway). There's not much reflection to capture because there's so much brush in the stream it gets broken up and the heron was pretty close to the bank. I was super glad that there was enough light to capture the heron in great detail while still getting the sunset colors in the background. Thanks for your detailed critique!

Jill, good to see you again. I've been posting mostly on weekdays because I've been away from my computer and internet access most weekends lately. Also, my schedule has changed a bit, so I've had to post mostly in the evening. I'm still updating my Q&A thread with new pics every once in a while:

http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.asp?threadID=10623

Thanks again!

Pam #799843

Pam #804477

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Cool shot. I love the detail on your wing.

Pam #857905

They have a great mix of things there. There are several driving loops that come pretty close to the ditches and ponds where the birds are. You can get out of your car, set up a tripod, whatever you want. Mainly, you just have to stay on the road. A lot of people bike through there as well and there are some additional biking and hiking trails besides the main road. Also, there are lots of places with boardwalks where you can go out over the water and get pretty close to the wildlife without spooking it. On the main road, I usually stay in my car if possible because some of the animals will spook easily. The coyote pictures I have in my gallery were taken from my car. The coyote came within 3 feet of my car while I was shooting, but as soon as this guy got out to get some shots of the coyote while it was eating a duck, it hid behind some bushes and avoided us. The car definitely works as a good blind.

My camera has a great image stabilizer, which helps a lot for the handheld shots.... I rarely use a tripod for moving wildlife shots. My tripod shots are usually at dusk or in other low light situations.

I love Bosque del Apache and highly recommend that anyone interested in wildlife photography go there, especially during the winter when the cranes and snow geese are there in droves....

Pam
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