Behind the Veil

[Mike Godwin]

Nikon D300 with Nikkor 70-200 lens 1/1000 f5 ISO 200 Natural light, slight crop for composition

This weekend I challenged myself to look at things in a different perspective, hope you like it! Great Egret in full breeding regalia taken late afternoon (5:45pm) at Gatorland in Orlando, FL.

[John Haig]

Very cool, Mike...the dark background really sets off the plumes...nice composition.

[Tony Whitehead]

Well seen, Mike. Works well against the dark BG. I would probably have gone for ISO 400 and closed down a couple of stops to gain some more DOF as the bird looks just slightly soft behind the focus on the plumes. Head seems angled just slightly away but overall a very nice result.

[Oscar Dewhurst]

The dark background really makes the plumes and bill stand out. I love it :)

Oscar

[Jim Fenton]

This simply works for me especially as I've always been a sucker for both lines and high contrast images :)

If I can be unrationally, overly picky for just a few seconds...a hair more of a head turn would have been better, BUT...not many who don't hang out here would ever even pick up on it :)

[Don Lacy]

Really like the concept here Mike and the breeding colors of the Egret. I hate to be member of the HA police:) but just a bit more eye contact would put this one over the top, still a strong image as posted.

[Mike Godwin]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions everyone, much appreciated!

[Marina Scarr]

This picture is truly pretty darn good. My first thought was a little more eye contact. However, I have looked at this picture several times before commenting. The plumes fall right in the perfect spot b/c you don't have anything large crossing the eye. The white is a killer against the black BG. This picture flows.