Snowy Egret

[Rich Reich]

The long feather plumes on the head of this Snowy Egret give it beautiful lines. I took this image in Naples Florida at about 10 AM with my new 80-400mm Nikon zoom.

1/4000 sec, f/ 5.6, -1EV, ISO 400, zoomed to 465mm equivalent.


Rich Reich

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Rich

Need soft light for these white birds, this same image at sun up would be incredible. Here the water looks dark since you had to guard against the light tones.

Head angle is important best to wait for the bird to look a bit your way. Might also crop some of the reflection but is just personal taste !!! Congrats on your new lens !!! btw at 400 with the camera crop factor it has lots of magnification ... use your tripod !!!

[Rich Reich]

Thanks Alfred. I will try shooting around sunrise to see how the softer light works with both the white birds and water.

Rich

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Rich,
Alfred gave you some excellent advice. I will add that I don't mind the black BG.....but the softer light will further enhance the feel and mood. BTW.......early morning usually have calmer water also......so the reflections look better.

[Arthur Morris]

Jeez, these guys are tough. The light looks wonderful to me and I like the reflections on the body off the water. I like the dramatic look and the black water. I love the look of the reflections in the water; giving them a bit more room below might have helped.

The poor head angle is an image killer... Do see the Head Angle Police thread in Educational Resources and thanks BTW for your membership support. We are all looking forward to helping you improve.

[Rich Reich]

Arthur,

Thanks for the feedback.

The previous comments did get me out of bed early this morning to work with the softer light of the early morning. The challenge was the slower shutter speeds. I'm reviewing my images today to see to what extent the softer light enhances the results and changes the mood. If I find a good example I'll post it. I do find the darkwater dramatically offsets the white bird. I'd like to improve the visual texture or detail of the white feathers a bit.

By the way - this past week I've been reading your book "The Art of Bird Photography". It is an extrarodinary and insightful resource that will be of much help.

Thanks,

Rich