It was a gorgeous, crisp, central FL winter morning at Circle B Reserve with a number of BPN folks enjoying the day. The snowy egrets were fishing on the fly as they commonly do, as is this one. The leading edge of the far wing is problematic; otherwise I am happy with the image. Some helpful critique is most welcome. Thanks.
Camera Model Name : NIKON D300
Lens ID : AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED
Shutter Speed : 1/800
Aperture : 8.0
ISO : 200
White Balance : Auto
Focal Length : 300.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 450.0 mm)
Focus Distance : 14.96 m
Depth Of Field : 0.78 m (14.58 - 15.36)
Auto Focus : On
Focus Mode : AF-C
Shooting Mode : Continuous
AF Area Mode : Dynamic Area (21 points)
Exposure Mode : Manual
Vibration Reduction : Off
Flash Mode : Did Not Fire
Quality : RAW
Color Space : Adobe RGB
Last edited by David Gancarz; 01-23-2011 at 04:37 PM.
Beautiful.
The water and habitat is really well done.
I don't care at all about the far wing, doesn't diminish the photo at all IMO.
I like the foreground, and the color in the legs.
A lot of contrast in the white for such a dark background.
No real CC here, almost perfect.
Hey David,
I hope to make it there myself next month and perhaps in March with my tour as it looks like a fantastic place!
These guys are always fun to photograph! You caught a pretty good pose......a slightly better wing position would have given less shadow on the far wing. While not a card carrying member of HAP......I do think a slight turn towards us would be better....but all the above mentioned elements are out of our control and left to bird! In this case, while the BG and FG are OK......I do think a minor clean up of the FG would help......and eliminating the grasses entirely in the BG would bring this up a notch.....all of course if you are OK with such things! If you aren't......then I want to give you a tip that I always recommend whether it is in macro, landscapes, wildlife, or avian.........look at the BG first! If your subject is in an area that would give you the cleaner BG w/o PP'ing.......work that area.....if not.......move on to another area while the light is still sweet. This can greatly affect your working time and success rate! Just a few things to keep in mind when in the field.
Thanks Roman -- all good advice; particularly the last -- which is sometimes difficult while reconciling the competing needs of birdwatcher and photographer ;~). If you do go to Circle B and assuming the white pelicans are still there, be sure to be set up and in position before the sun rises. They take flight in groups of 20 or so just as the sun rises -- to the east and directly towards/over you.
For me the image is too dark overall, and that comes from someone who usually likes darker images.
I would try to adjust it so the brightest whites are around 245 or so, and see how the overall images looks. I am at work and don't have PS on this machine, but give it a try, see what you think.
Even if you have to do a bit of recovery of the highlights as you bring the exposure up, I think the overall image would present better.
Snowy Egret
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