Egret at Brazos Bend State Park (TX)

[Barry Ekstrand]

After seeing Arash's wonderful Egret posting I hesitated to put this up, but as I'm truly trying to learn and improve I figured I should put it out there for critique. This is a shot taken with my old T2i at Brazos Bend, I am working on older files along with newer stuff with the new 5D mark III. Photo info:


Camera: Canon T2i Lens: Canon EF 400mm f5.6L
Exposure: ISO 800, Aperture Priority, f7.1, 1/4000 sec, EV +0.7, spot metering, flash used with Better Beamer
Cropped in to about 50% of original

The background is the algae-laden swamp.

[Dan Busby]

Not bad at all Barry. I kind of like the natural background - it seems just diffuse enough to not be distracting. The main problem is that the bird is already past you and oriented away from the camera and this is emphasized by your comp that has the bird more to the right of the frame. USUALLY it's better to have more room in the direction that the bird is flying.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Hi Barry, your bird is nice and sharp and you have a nice background to work with.
It's preferable to pull the trigger before the bird passes the photographer. That along with a flight angle towards the viewer helps establish better eye contact.
Your exposure looks good. I've never used a flash or Av for flight shots; your method worked out for you here.
I would try and eliminate or tone down some of the spots in the bg when post processing.

Is BBSP a good spot for bird photography? Would like to make it there some time.

Welcome aboard and looking forward to more!

[nick clayton]

Nice sharp image of a beautiful bird in flight but would have been better if it had more room in front than behind the bird and if it wasn't looking away from you Barry.

[Barry Ekstrand]

Thanks to all for the comments, I see the point on getting the bird before it passes by and appreciate that being highlighted. I'll work on that!

Sidharth, Brazos Bend is a great birding spot. The BirdsEye app (eBird) shows 225 species identified & reported, everything from waterfowl, herons, egrets, and ibis to birds of prey, woodpeckers, and many small species. And lots of alligators and turtles as well. It is a great spot, well worth a visit.

Barry

[Marina Scarr]

Glad you didn't hesitate, Barry, b/c that's the only way you're going to learn and improve. You did a good job with focus. Next time, try to capture the bird before he flies past you. In this particular case he is flying away from you, and it's not as eye catching as if his face were more visible. Really liking your background here. Keep 'em coming!!!