Great Egret Carrying Gift

[Bill Dix]

I had too much lens for this shot, so when he spread his wings and took off I clipped his feet. Rather than show him with missing feet, I chose to crop tighter. From Venice Rookery in February, 2017.

D500, 500f4, ISO 640, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual.

[John Mack]

That's a pretty big stick. The light looks quite nice. I like the crop.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Bill,

Nicely done, sharp, and you did an excellent job with the crop and the WHITEs. The shadow on the neck bugs me. Do you know what caused it? With the bird's body and the near underwing in the shade many would want you to take the BLUE out (and on the neck shadow as well). That stuff usually does not bug me but I think that it would improve this one.

with love, artie

[Bill Dix]

Thank you John and Artie. I figured there would be some at BPN that might want the blue removed. For me, a bit of blue cast on a shaded white wing seems normal, so I chose to leave it in. I'm not crazy about the shadow on the neck either. The sun was low and to my right, and I'm guessing the shadow is from a few of the primaries on the near wing.