Snowy Egret

[Kerry Perkins]

Exposing for the whites is what these birds are all about. This was captured early morning in winter, so the light has a nice warmth to it - just a bit on the red side. The exposure formula is one I use in direct sunlight for white birds. I determined it years ago by taking a few shots and checking the histogram, which has pixels in the right-most section of the chart but only about halfway to the wall. You need to leave a little headroom for all-white birds.

7D, EF400mm f/5.6L
Manual mode, f/8@1/2000 ISO 400 WB 5100K
AI Servo autofocus, hand-held no flash

[John Chardine]

Now that's a beauty Kerry. The whites look perfect. Loverly fine detail in the plumes too.

[Karen Forderer]

The egret looks great against that lovely blue background. The exposure is super. I will try your tip on getting the exposure right on white birds. I do have some trouble with egrets.

[Clyde Hopper]

Great Shot ,Grand Advice , Thanks for sharing both !

[Bob Miller]

Hi Kerry....i shoot alot of egrets here in De so I am filing your bit of advice under "Remember this" TFS

[James Shadle]

Kerry,
Your exposure value is a reciprocal for sunny 16 less 1/3. Perfect in the midday for white.
Early in the morning that exposure would usually underexpose "a white".

Obviously Kerry has photographed Snowy Egrets before.
They must be whiter than white, that is why the exposure is perfect.

As noted you nailed the exposure, picked a beautiful subject and it's tack sharp.
I do feel a little more room all around (If possible I would prefer the rock on the LL not to be cut off) would make this an even stronger image.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Great example of a solid photograph and controlling the four corners of the frame. The photographer decides what goes in and is excluded from the frame. In this image the rock anchors the foreground and the background is well muted allowing the subject to be the subject. The crop is fine and usually a subjective matter, a tad tight for me.