Great Egret

[Doug Herr]

This bird has its head tucked in to the feathers of its back on a cold/foggy morning. The upper left corner was challenging because of the various things in the background. Since I couldn't eliminate this corner, I chose to maneuver so that I'd have light-colored water in that corner instead of a dark tree trunk.

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/ardeidae/greg03.jpg

Technical stuff:

Location: Sacramento County California
Date: late December 2007
Camera: Leica R8/DMR (is this allowed here?)
Lens: Leitz 560mm f/6.8 with extension tube
Support: Shoulder stock with monopod
Exposure: 1/125 sec @ f/6.8, metered manually

All comments welcome.

[Mike Poe]

Would like to have seen a "glint" in the eye. Based on conditions you reported use of a flash would have been necessary to achieved this.

Camera: Leica R8/DMR (is this allowed here?) ...No Doug I'm sorry please box it up and send to me ; )

[Steve Foss]

Doug, this is a special portrait, IMO. The strong diagonal slash from the stark bill plays nicely on the soft feather textures, and the eye also is a key player, as it is in most avian photographs. Good job on the upper left corner. Some of the whites, particularly in the top quadrant of the image, look a little hot on my monitor and lacking in detail. Some shadows/highlights in photoshop, maybe? Or maybe it's my monitor. Great job.

[Doug Herr]

Some of the whites, particularly in the top quadrant of the image, look a little hot on my monitor and lacking in detail. Some shadows/highlights in photoshop, maybe? Or maybe it's my monitor. Great job.

That would be limited DOF. Thanks for the comments.

[Marko Matesic]

This is art for me!
Nice and subtle colors.