I was down at South Padre Island, TX. last week and was taking photos of a White-morph Reddish Egret fishing, when another flew in. Almost immediately, the one already there rose up to challenge the intruder. This shot was the second shot I got before the one on the right grabbed a hold of the other's head with it's beak. This one was probably the best, since you can see both bird's eyes. As always, I'm concerned with the whites, so wanted to get your opinions on the color, plus the composition. I wasn't sure of that either, since they ended up being rather centered. Your comments, suggestions, and tips are always appreciated! Techs: party cloudy day (sun was in and out) with Nikon D7000/500mm f/4-P, 1.6x TC @ 1/3200. f/4, ISO 640 on tripod/gimbal (wish I'd stopped down to f/5.6, but I was struggling for light at times and since I was just shooting one bird, figured it would be enough)
This is wonderful!! I'd take a little off the right and bottom -- no need to try to un-center a subject with space where nothing is happening, unless the subject really needs room to move into. With their attention directed to each other, the subject works best centered.
The whites look good to me. It might do with just a slight lowering of exposure but the high-key presentation also adds to the drama.
Hi jean.....This is a great capture! It has lots of feather detail and good sharpness. The whites also look very good to me. You might consider changing the saturation or lumnance of the bg for a different look. Very nice work!
Excellent capture. What a great action shot.
I would take off enough of the right and left to square the image and keep the birds centered. Whites look good.
Congrats Jeannean. Thats pretty much a dream shot for me, I love the Morphs, I have never seen two a once. I think the whites look good. The edge of the right wing, looks blown on the bird on the right, but that a very small area. Focus looks so good for f/4. I wish I was there.
Hi Jeannean ,Did you try this with a heavy crop ? as in, the birds fill the whole frame ? This IS an awesome shot ! I find myself wanting a bit tighter crop though . I also would (If it were mine) Dodge the water droplets ,trying to make them stand out more . Please don't misunderstand me here, IT IS GREAT AS IS !
Thanks for the comments and suggestions! I really appreciate the help. I'll play with different crops and try to lower the exposure a bit. I'm off to South Padre Island again tomorrow for a few days, so maybe they'll do a repeat performance.
Hi Jeannean, spectacular action shot! Very nice field work to see this action develop and make the capture. Some good comments and advice above, I do feel the image is a bit flat and the crop somewhat too loose. I took the liberty of making a few adjustments - curves to add a little contrast and bring the blacks down, color balance to neutralize the whites a bit (not necessary, just a suggestion), and hue/saturation to bring out the colors and sky a bit. The crop seems better to me, as it focuses the eye on the action and eliminates the dark band at the bottom of the frame. Very nice work, keep them coming!
"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson
Thank you Kerry for the repost. I like it much better! I redid mine and upped the contrast and saturation but still struggled with the crop. Yours looks great.
Oh wow, you've managed to capture the action brilliantly. I agree, a bit of cropping from the bottom and side would put the photo over the top. It's a small nitpick though. The image is brilliant as it is now.
White-morph Reddish Egrets in aerial battle
