It was a gloriously warm clear day Saturday at Gatorland, Orlando, with the egrets in full breeding plumage. This common egret is on its nest in courtship display. Nikon D300, 70-300 VR at 155mm, 1/500 f/8, ISO500, hand held, setting sun. Cropped left and right only. Small stick removed at bottom breast. Boosted saturation from eye to tip of bill.
Nice pose to show off the aigrettes well. Bird is sharp.
Despite the setting sun, the whites are a bit hot. Wish I could see the feet, and that the background was a bit cleaner. I haven't been to gatorland, but I understand it is tight, so perhaps very difficult to get clean shots.
Wow, I have been dreaming about this shot many times, but I haven't find an adequate rookery here in Puerto Rico. You captured the pose of the bird perfectly at the right time. Only thing is the BG, which adds some distraction.
Thanks for the comments, all of which I agree. This was taken on manual using spot metering on the white w/ +1.3EV. Evidently, I chose the wrong spot! The hot spot is not actually burned out according to the histogram, but it certainly does lack detail. Maybe some local PP could help there. The whites are a little warm -- I was trying to balance the color temp between too warm and too much blue in the shadows. Advice on the best way to do this will be much appreciated. The object in the BG is a building roof -- no way to avoid it for this particular nest. Feet would have been good. The good thing about Gatorland is you always have a second chance :).
Common Egret
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