There are usually a fair number of egrets at the lagoon on campus where I work. The light is almost always in the wrong place though (I need Adobe to get me the giant lasso to move the sun around :) ). This egret was completely backlit and I came up with this shot. The translucent beak and feathers gave a nice effect.
Technical Bits
Nikon D80
300mm f/4 + 1.4TC
ISO 400 f/8 1/750 sec
matrix metering, no EC, no flash
I like this a lot, Leroy. The backlit beak really glows and I like the S-curve with the tight crop. I would mask sharpening off the shaded neck as I suspect it is accentuating the shadows amongst the feathers. I am wondering how a tiny puff of flash would have worked to open the shaded areas and put a small catchlight in the eye.
This a really nice composition Leroy. I agree with Tony on the S curve, and the translucent beak really sets it off! Too often I don't take the time to "see" these opportunities in the field. Well done.
My vote is for the first one. Reason; the beak where it rest against the neck has a nice yellow glow which gives this one a unique look. Love the s curve figure to the neck, rim light of course and the tight pose crop feel. Very nicely done image. Or should I say a work of art envisioned.
I too like the OP. The glow through the bill is killer. My one wish is not listed above: that the head and bill were just a bit more square to the back of the camera. You did a good job of getting rid of the light area, but have introduced a tiny white border (in the OP) just along the proximal edge of the upper mandible. All in all, well done.
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