I would have wished for a less clutter in the water, and probably half a stop down. The lighting is a bit harsh, being 4 in the afternoon. Still, I think it is an interesting image -- a peacable kingdom sort of thing. I think the centeredness of the gator and the snowy gazing downwind works. D300, 70-300 @ 155mm, 1/800, f8, aperture priority. All opinions welcome.
What a great image David! Detail and exposure are excellent. Would be improved if the the gator's head was in the focal plane, but that probably would have required at least f/11.
Did you stick around to see if this ultimately turned out ok for the egret? Wonder if it knew what it landed on...
A very humorous image David! I love the "knock-kneed" pose of the egret. I think it would be nice if we could see the gator's eyes clearer and I suppose a lower perspective might have been used to try to smooth the surface of the water, but in this case I am not sure I would want to get that much lower!
I like the image and wish for more DOF as already mentioned. Looks like you had enough light there to drop the SS a little and wind down the aperture. Great idea, do you often get this sort of opportunity? I would have thought the birds would stay away from these big predators. :p
Thanks all. This was from Gatorland here in Orlando where the alligators are very well fed -- not too much danger for the egret. If a chick from the rookery falls in the water, it is done for; otherwise they seem to coexist.
Snowy Gator
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