Great Egret (Lunch Time)

[Rene' Villela]

Well, this could be the last one of the year!

An Egret with an unlucky frog!
I've been having problems understanding about a good angle head. Maybe this shot will clarify it for me. If there was a circle in front of me with a bird parallel to my film plane, the bill should be between 3 and 9 o'clock, am I right? Which mean in this shot that would be the first thing to which for since the bill is pointing close to 10, Right?

I didn't know what to do about the bump of the shoulder, leave it as is, add some more body or crop it all the way to the neck.

I wish for more light on the frog but I couldn't do it!

Thank you for your comments! Cheers!

D80 - AF 80-200 f/2.8, AP f/3.5, 1/250 sec, ISO 100

PS. where can ask for advice on a lens? :) No Xmas presents yet and B/D coming up soon! I found out where my wife keeps her c/card! :)

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Nice catch, not looking good for the frog. I also like the BG and wish the bird's head were more angled toward you. It looks as if there is a slight S/H halo around the frog. That won't happen if you apply curves in your RAW converter.

You could ask your lens question in the photo gear forum.

[bill kominsky]

Nicely done Rene' great timing on this one. I really do not look as closely as the moderator's do and the halo doesn't bother me I just like the image.

Bill

[Daniel Cadieux]

René, when it comes to head angle it's not about the bill pointing up or down...but rather the bill pointing towards or away from the viewer. Here it is pointing slighlty away.

Here is the perfect thread to answer your head angle question:

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7781

As for the crop...Yes, I would add more of the body in there. As is there is not enough IMO, and cropping it all out would look awkward. Also, as for the "more light on the frog" that you couldn't do...invest in a flash if you don't have one. When used well the results will have you asking why you didn't use one before :-)

[Rene' Villela]

AXEL.... Nothing goes by you, huh? :) That halo was created when I was trying to light up the frog! hehe! I notice d so I gave up and tried to returned it to the original lighting! I thought I had put it back the way it was but you saw the halo that I didn't noticed! Also thanks for the gear forum thing! I wanna ask about a lens. I'm convinced my 300 mm is not long enough but I can't expend 10 K's on a Nikon 600! :) Cheers!

BILL... Thank you! You are so kind! That's why I like you most! :) But don't tell Axel and Daniel please! :)

DANIEL... Thanks! That is a great thread! Just a little problem.... After I started reading Artie's and Sabya's conversation, uhmmm! It was so interesting that I forgot everything about the head angle! :)