Cattle Egret, non-breeding taking flight

[Arthur Morris]

This image was created on 1 MAY 2020 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1485540-REG/sony_sel200600g_fe_200_600mm_f_5_6_6_3_g.html/BI/6633/KBID/7226/kw/SO200600G/DFF/d10-v2-t1-xSO200600G) (at 496mm) and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1509600-REG/sony_ilce9m2_b_alpha_a9_ii_mirrorless.html/BI/6633/KBID/7226/kw/SOA92/DFF/d10-v2-t1-xSOA92) ISO 500. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 7:28am on a clear morning with just a hint of haze. Tracking Flexible Spot (M) AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed superbly.

Learn more about the creation of this image in the blog post here. (http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2020/05/11/tracking-flexible-spot-m-for-flight-on-thinking-ahead-and-being-prepared-and-sony-200-600-flight-versatility/)

As for the image, don't be shy; all comments are welcome and appeciated.

with love, artie

[Bill Dix]

This is a stunning capture. IMHO one of the most pleasing you've posted in some time, if I may be so bold. The light is gorgeous, focus spot on, perfect wing position and flight angle, and the flowers are icing on the beautiful cake. Nicely done.

[dankearl]

I like everything about it except it is noisy for iso500.... I assume you did no NR and this is not a big crop.
Looks fine, has some texture, I am just surprised there is any. Is that a Sony thing?

[David Roach]

The light and details on this beauty look great but the FG and BG flowers take it over the top for me. Only wish subject was just a little higher in the frame. TFS

[Randy Stout]

Artie:

Love the pose, sharpness and flowers. It is funny however, that when I post a loon with water Lillies in the background, I often get some push back (too distracting!)

I do agree about David's comment about the bird being just a bit higher in the frame.

Keep them coming!

Cheers

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

I like everything about it except it is noisy for iso500.... I assume you did no NR and this is not a big crop.
Looks fine, has some texture, I am just surprised there is any. Is that a Sony thing?

Thanks all. Dan, I am seeing zero noise in this image and in most of my SONY images so it is not a "SONY thing." This image is full frame exactly as it came out of the camera after the conversion in Capture One. The image here is a 100% crop of the BKGR. What are you seeing as noise? If any, what type?

with love, artie

[Arthur Morris]

The light and details on this beauty look great but the FG and BG flowers take it over the top for me. Only wish subject was just a little higher in the frame. TFS

Thanks, David, Not that I had anything to do with the image design, but if the bird were higher in the frame it would not be so perfectly placed in and surrounded by the flowers, and, I would lose most of the blue (lake) in the BKGR. And I love the lake.

with love, artie

[dankearl]

I am picky or maybe I just like NR on backgrounds more than most.
I only keep well exposed photos these days, I don't "save" any.
I do not blur, I use the luminance settings Arash recommends for the iso which de-noises it a bit but I then
use Topaz on the BG in photoshop for personal taste.
Nothing wrong with your background, no one else has commented, it is probably me. It is not really noisy, has texture,
I think a personal choice. I might be in the wrong.
In the Remodeling Osprey thread,
I posted the full frame out of camera Raw converted in C1P using Arash setting for luminance. I did nothing else.
Saved and posted with no sharpening, no nothing.
It is iso 1400 on D500.
Less noisy to my eyes than yours.
Hope someone else comments, Good discussion.

[David Roach]

Thanks, David, Not that I had anything to do with the image design, but if the bird were higher in the frame it would not be so perfectly placed in and surrounded by the flowers, and, I would lose most of the blue (lake) in the BKGR. And I love the lake.

with love, artie

Hi Artie,
I too love the position of the bird in the current frame relative to the field of flowers and the water at top. Since it's FF, what I meant was pointing lower, say so the top would be just above the highest flower in the ULC. Now, you still have plenty of that water (just scrolled to try it) and the mostly in focus flower FG would have that same strip (amount that is) added at the bottom. I do love it as is because of the in focus bottom and the painterly OOF BG (same flowers). Not to mention the perfect view of the subject. I even like the shadow for added depth and a true feel for the light on this beauty. Mine is a minor nit for sure.
Peace,
David

[arash_hazeghi]

lovely shot Artie! wish it were mine. Look at all the color and the beautiful habitat perfect wing position and sharp with excellent details in the whites. this from yours truly who doesn't usually care much for egrets but wish this one was mine. can't get any better. colors are very good too




To Dan's points, the BG is a bit noisy to my eye too, I also have the same camera and the lens as Artie and have been using it for 2 months now .... there are two factors that contribute to noise.
1. There is no doubt for me that the Sony camera is noisier than the Nikon's. the sensor has a very fast readout for blackout free shooting which makes it noisy, the 100% crop shows noise and is not as smooth as a Nikon or Canon camera. I find it that with Sony cameras you have to run neat image in photoshop in addition to capture one NR for most images.
2. the zoom lens is quite slow at f/6.3 and its bokeh is mediocre at best, it doesn't compare with a high end Nikon lens such as the PF or the f/4 lenses. it's quite a bit cheaper too. This makes the BG look a bit crunchy or textured. It is similar to Nikon's 200-500 f/5.6 VR lens which I had for a short while and quickly sold. it just doesn't give a creamy bokeh.

but the Sony nails the focus quite well so the image is tack sharp and it's quite easy to remove the noise, especially from the BG. here is my 10 second try with neat image, masked the bird, NR on the BG, cleaned up nicely.

[gail bisson]

Absolutely gorgeous frame.
Love the colors, the IQ, the perfect wing pose. I too would have loved the egret to be slightly higher in the frame.
I also see a bit of "texture" versus classic "noise". I like Arash's repost with some NR But I would take either frame in a heartbeat.
One of your best frames this year,
Gail

[John Mack]

Lovely light and flowers in the background. Would like to see the bird higher in the frame.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Artie,
I too love the position of the bird in the current frame relative to the field of flowers and the water at top. Since it's FF, what I meant was pointing lower, say so the top would be just above the highest flower in the ULC. Now, you still have plenty of that water (just scrolled to try it) and the mostly in focus flower FG would have that same strip (amount that is) added at the bottom. I do love it as is because of the in focus bottom and the painterly OOF BG (same flowers). Not to mention the perfect view of the subject. I even like the shadow for added depth and a true feel for the light on this beauty. Mine is a minor nit for sure.
Peace,
David

Completely understand but that does not work for me as I would lose most of the BLUE :). From where i sit, I got very lucky.

with love, artie

[David Roach]

Completely understand but that does not work for me as I would lose most of the BLUE :). From where i sit, I got very lucky.

with love, artie

I doubt luck had anything to do with it and I get your point.
Peace,
David

[Debapratim Saha]

Wow!!Brand Arthur Morris shot! lovely every bit of the image.