great blue herons are among my favorite subjects, and i have a ton of photos of them. this GBH popped out of the cattails behind me and flew across a small lagoon about 50 feet away. i barely had time to get my camera up and get focused, it didn't even occur to me to back off on the zoom! but i rather like the effect... his wingtip seems to be almost brushing my lens, and it really feels like i'm right on top of the action...