EOS R RF 100-500 RF 1.4xtc @700 f10 1/2000 ISO 800 HH, Manual EXP, slight crop for composition
I arrived at the lagoon while at dawn and 15 minutes before sunrise. First subject I spotted was one of my favorite waders, the snowy egret. I created about 20 frames in the glow from the dawn sky. I did notice a haze and thought it was condensation on the EVF. It turns out the lens also had condensation (AC in car to 90% humidity, next time camera bag in the trunk) and the images were not up to par. I saw this when reviewing those first images of the day, a real bummer. I waited for it to clear and began day looking for other subjects as this beauty flew down the lagoon and directly into the light source of the glowing horizon. After chasing a few subjects, settled into one spot and let them come to me. Later, about an hour and half past sunrise and a few close visitors, the unblocked sun was getting slightly harsh so I sat up in the mud to get ready to leave. Lo and behold, not three meters behind me, now in wrong position with the sun behind and to the left of this frame, was the same original bird now preening closer than any bird had gotten all morning. After completely muttering a few obscenities, I knew if I got up to change position, away she would go. Pointed the rig to see if some how I could get light on the face as preening continued. Noticed when preening under the wing, the side/back rim light came through those crest feathers, one of my favorite things about this bird. I moved the histogram left till I clearly had the small hill of brightest light away from the right border of the histogram. This is right in the live viewfinder on mirrorless. Then backed that blip right against the 255 channel for ETTR based on the rim light. Fired just a couple frames as the head came back down to preen under the wing. I kinda liked the result but am curious what others think.
Light through the crest...
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