We've had a LOT of rain lately and after getting the call that work was off for the day:D I decided to go for a drive and hopefully find some Egrets. Driving past a flooded property I saw this amazing bird foraging. To cut a long story short I was lucky enough to spend 20mins with this beautiful creature before he disappeared into the trees.
Thanks, Randy. I really appreciate your comments:)
I've been a little reluctant to shoot wide open after comments on other photos about the shallow DOF. BUT.... I guess the shallow DOF is really more of an issue when the subject is close to the minimum focus distance.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Sometimes(most of the time) it takes while for things like this to register and become second nature.
I think that is an improvement, puts the attention more on the bird. It might be interesting to fiddle with toning down some of the highlights in the water also.
It is true that the farther out you go, the deeper the depth of field for a given f/stop, so when I get out a bit like this shot, by all means try wide open at least for a few frames. If the background is far away or very simple, not as much of a problem, but in this case it would have been worthwhile.
In reality, if you have the time, I would try several different settings to give my self the best chance.
It is very tempting to just keep taking the same picture over and over again, but usually you are much better off to take a few, change the settings, take some more, etc.
Thanks, Randy. I think I went from ISO 400 f/5.6 to ISO 800 f/11. I was caught up in the moment. Very excited to see such an uncommon bird and made some regrettable mistakes.
I see this as something to learn from. I also saw your comment about varying your settings for different results in another thread and I'm trying to incorporate this into my photography. I just need to keep my emotions under control when the excitement tries to take control :)
Chris, I like the pose, and the overall colours, and your comp suits the pose. Your repost with regards the comp is better, but would have added a bit more at the bottom.