A Thoroughbred versus a Heron.

Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1.
Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1.

I’d spotted the Heron standing on the old Southern Railway lift-bridge at Richmond’s Great Ship Lock Park, before I heard the low throb of the 645 diesel.

“There’s a train coming.”

Doug Riddell was giving Pat Yough and me a thorough tour of the area, and we were looking for an angle to photograph Amtrak 67 on the nearby Chesapeake & Ohio viaduct.

I focused on the bird. Would it stay still long enough to catch it with the locomotive?

Southern_Railway_Bridge_w_Heron_Great_Shiplock_Park_Richmond_DSCF0030

Here my zoom lens was invaluable. I made tight angle of the heron, and then pulled back to include the scene.

Exposed using a Fuji X-T1.
Exposed using a Fuji X-T1.

The SD40-2 eased around the bend. I kept my eye on the bird. How long would it stand there? Finally as the train drew closer the bird raised its wings and with a squawk took flight. I exposed a short burst of images. The tightest is a cropped view.

Crop2_Southern_Railway_Bridge_w_Heron_in_flight_Great_Shiplock_Park_DSCF0039

This is the full-frame un-cropped image.  In the blink of an eye the Heron took flight and was gone.
This is the full-frame un-cropped image. In the blink of an eye the Heron took flight and was gone.

Next on the program: Amtrak 67 to Newport News.

Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.

Please share Tracking the Light!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

* Copy This Password *

* Type Or Paste Password Here *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>