Spray and Pray...

[Joseph Przybyla]

Dottie and I were at the new found rookery this morning. I watched this Snowy Egret bringing sticks to nest for use in building the nest. He ( I assume) would fly into a wooded area and carefully pick a special branch/twig, then fly about fifty feet across the boardwalk we were standing on to the nest. There would be verbal communication between he and his mate, assuming while he gave her the branch (I could not see clearly because of branches). This action would be repeated again and again. I decided to try to photograph him carrying a stick back. There was only a small window that gave a pleasing background as he flashed by. The camera could not lock focus as he crossed by about twelve meters away. It was only two seconds from when he came into view until he was at the nest site. I focused on the ground underneath where I knew he would fly, presetting the focus as close as possible. After many tries I captured this image of the Snowy Egret carrying a stick back to the nest. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400 F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED shot at 260mm (390mm FFE)
1/2500 F/8 Matrix Metering -1 EV ISO 1600 AWB
Post processed in Lightroom 6 and Photoshop Elements 10
Cropped for composition and presentation

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the nesting materiel which adds a touch of behavior to this photo. The light was a bit harsh casting some shadows and I wish the wings were raised a bit more
TFS

[Jonathan Ashton]

Good technique Jo, it paid off. The bird is well focused and exposed - good details. Pity about that straight lined shadow - that's one of my faults!