Snowy in Summer at Harns Marsh Preserve

[Bob Pelkey]

94088

Explored part of the marsh this morning with Bob Blanchard. He filled 56GB
in a couple of hours. I choose to shoot in JPEG and captured this Snowy Egret
juvenile after he left. The image is cropped and auto sharpened with a pass
of noise reduction. I see in the EXIF data that I didn't need to push the ISO
equivalent so high. Looking north with the sun fairly high in the sky. Tripod used.
The grass in the face of the bird is my major detraction. Time 09.22.

Snowy Egret juvenile at Harns Marsh Preserve
Lehigh Acres, Florida USA

Canon EOS-1D Mark III (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/eos_1d_mark_iii) ,Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/ef_600_4is)
1/8000s f/5.6 at 840.0mm iso800
<table width="450" align="center" border="1" cellpadding="1"><tbody><tr><td class="sb" colspan="2">Full EXIF Info</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Date/Time</td><td class="lid">29-May-2011 09:22:02</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Make</td><td class="lid">Canon</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Model</td><td class="lid">Canon EOS-1D Mark III</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Flash Used</td><td class="lid">No</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Focal Length</td><td class="lid">840 mm</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Exposure Time</td><td class="lid">1/8000 sec</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Aperture</td><td class="lid">f/5.6</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">ISO Equivalent</td><td class="lid">800</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Exposure Bias</td><td class="lid">-2</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">White Balance</td><td class="lid">
</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Metering Mode</td><td class="lid">matrix (5)</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">JPEG Quality</td><td class="lid">
</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Exposure Program</td><td class="lid">aperture priority (3)</td></tr> <tr><td class="lid" nowrap="nowrap">Focus Distance</td><td class="lid">25.7 m</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Paul Randall]

Nicely exposed and I kinda like the secretive feel the OOF grass gives the image. Pity the bird has already passed you and the face/beak could be a little sharper IMO.
Why would you choose not to shoot RAW??? Seems strange to have such a great camera and then leave your images to the mercy of JPEG compression.:2
Is it to do with the file sizes and storage issues??

[Neil Nourse]

This does have a nice feel to it but like Paul has said the timing was just a little late.
I also wonder why with the great equipment you have, you would choose to shoot JPG :eek:

TFS Neil

[Bob Blanchard]

Bob - Was definitely a fun time (as always). Not many folks willing to slog through the muck out there for the images we got. I certainly love that place.

I like the feel of this image. It expresses the actual sense one had out there of birds flying in and out of the marsh grasses like they were. The birds are still pretty timid there....especially deep in the marsh, so this image conveys that very well I think.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Bob, I like the FG blur here. As you noted, the grass glade in front of the eye is an issue. So is the fact that the bird has already passed you. IQ is not top-notch....not sure how big a crop is it. Face looks a bit soft. AF must have been tough in this situation. Better to shoot in RAW as others have said. I dont think you needed that high SS to freeze it. Looks like there was plenty of light...lower ISO would have been a better choice.

[DanWalters]

Kind of like the way the bird is gliding through the grasses. Has a quiet feel to the image.