Backyard Great Egret

[James Alexander]

This Great Egret landed in my backyard. My challenge was avoiding having pilings, docks, boats, and bright reflections of water in the image.

Support: Handheld
Canon 7D
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II +1.4 TC
Focal Length: 280mm
Aperture: f/5
ISO: 400
SS: 1/800
Eval Comp: 0
Aperture Priority:
AF Mode: One Shot
AF Selection Mode: Single Point
Location: Pine Island, FL
Time: 6:00 PM
Date: 02-24-11
Adjustments in Aperture: Recovery, Added some definition and sharpening, slight lightening of shadows.
Crop: None

All feedback very welcome.

[John Chardine]

Nicely done James/Alex (!). The light is beautiful and you have handled the BG well. Nice and sharp where it counts (eye/face). It would have been nice to have the bill a bit more in focus. I wonder how a horizontal crop would look with a lot off the bottom and more room to the right.

I could use a Great Egret in my back yard right now. Instead I have 6 feet of snow, and it snowed again today.

[Peter Farrell]

Very nice, Alex. I like the contrast in the BG colors. I agree with John about the bill.
Peter

[pat lillich]

your backyard sounds awesome. I looked out at our backyard juncos and tried to imagine great egrets instead - can't do it! The light is really rich and your bg and colors are beautiful.

[James Alexander]

John, Peter, and Pat--Thank you for your comments and excellent feedback.

Yes, I am quite fortunate to live here in SW Florida--only excuse for not getting great bird shots is operator error :'>>>. Alex