I photographed this Eastern Great Egret in foggy early morning light. It has a small Leather Jacket fish named for being without scales and having a tough sand-papery skin. They do grow quite large (about 1kg) and have that dorsal spine that they erect strongly when in strife. It took a while for the bird to relax the fish enough to be safe for swallowing.
1DXII 400mm F/2.8L II & 2XIII 800 mm 1/4000 f5.6 iso1250 +0.7 ev cropped from horizontal. Probably should have used a bit more f-stop as I have missed the focal plane on the neck behind the head. The soft plumage does disguise that a little - maybe!
Im not sure if what we're seeing is purely lack of DOF as face isn't critically sharp either. The fish is great, but there is a general lack of detail across the frame.
I agree there is something going on with either the processing and/or the resizing. Blacks are too deep as well. Cool prey item, and the info about this type of fish is really neat.
Why not rotate and use the equipment in the vertical format? The pro bodies with the built-in "grip" are perfect for quickly flicking the entire outfit 90 degrees. :) Just a thought....
It appears to be lacking details in plumage and also I'd have some room for the legs below the water. Good capture though with the Fan-bellied Leatherjacket juvenile it caught.
Thanks for the comments. I stuffed something up in the shot because the raw looks the same so no joy there. Yes, Ákos I should use vertical format more, and thanks for the fish identity.
Breakfast
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