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Heuston Station and a Heron—September 2016.

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The other evening, I was passing Dublin’s Heuston Station, where I noticed a heron standing on the banks of the River Liffey during relatively low-tide.

Using my Nikon F3 with f1.4 50mm lens, I made this exposure on Ilford HP5 to show the bird and the classic 1840s-built railway terminal.

On a September 2016 evening, a lone heron stands in the River Liffey near Dublin’s Heuston Station. Exposed on Ilford HP5 black & white film (rated at 400 ISO) and processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution B) for 4 minutes at 68 degrees (with a presoak water bath containing a hint of developer to help actuate initial development and improve shadow detail).
On a September 2016 evening, a lone heron stands in the River Liffey near Dublin’s Heuston Station. Exposed on Ilford HP5 black & white film (rated at 400 ISO) and processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution B) for 4 minutes at 68 degrees (with a presoak water bath containing a hint of developer to help actuate initial development and improve shadow detail).

I made some nominal localized post-processing adjustments in Lightroom to help draw the eye to the bird. It’s reflection in the water helps make it more obvious.

I wonder if this effort will be obvious as the photo transcends the irregularities of the internet.

Internet imposed cropping and compression are never the friends of subtle photography. Perhaps that’s one reason that brash, bold super-saturated images prevail on the web today?

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A Thoroughbred versus a Heron.

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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.

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