Snowy Egret

[Danny J Brown]

Snowy egrets are listed as (S1 - State Endangered) in Missouri so I was happy to get this shot a few weeks ago near St. Louis. I have an image of the same bird with an orange-spotted sunfish in its bill but I liked the golden slippers on this one. I have snuggled the bird a bit tight in the frame so as to crop out an offending limb at the bottom instead of cloning it out. The original has more room all around. Thanks.

DB

Canon 1D Mark IV; Canon 500/4 L IS + 1.4x TC; 1/1250; f/7.1; EV -2/3; ISO 200; Av; Gitzo GT3530LS w/Wimberley II

[Stan Cunningham]

Quick question from one biologist to another, do you use saturation to bring out the gold colors?
Our egrets here in AZ have bright yellow feet, not this dark of gold at all. I know birds can have slight differences in coloration regionally, just curious as to how great the difference is.

Oh, and very nice shot!

[Danny J Brown]

Quick question from one biologist to another, do you use saturation to bring out the gold colors?
Our egrets here in AZ have bright yellow feet, not this dark of gold at all. I know birds can have slight differences in coloration regionally, just curious as to how great the difference is.

Oh, and very nice shot!

Good question. I think the gold color would look more yellow had I not used -2/3 EV to keep from blowing the highlights on the bird. I typically shoot at + 2/3 EV so if the bird was a different color which didn't require a bit of an underexposure, its feet would be more yellow, I'm sure. Regarding saturation, all of my images are at 0 or +1 except for redbirds, which I usually desaturate significantly on the red channel only (usually about 15%). Take care.

DB

[Randy Stout]

Danny:

Nice sense of form and texture created by the side lighting. Well exposed and sharp.

Wish the head was around our way a bit more.

Yes to tight comp, but it might have been the best choice based on the busy background. I might be tempted to tone down some of the lightest branches, esp. the one coming out of his chest.

Great slippers.

Cheers

Randy

[Troy Lim]

A bit tight for, also it seems a bit over-sharpened.
TFS.

[Stu Bowie]

Well exposed and sharp Danny, and I like the concentrated pose. I too like the 'footwear' I dont feel this is oversharpened, as with fine feathers, they tend to look 'crispy'.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Danny, this one's a beautiful specimen in peak breeding plumage with red lores and elaborate head feathers. Great details and loved the elegant pose. Tough light and setting...but you did very very well.

[Danny J Brown]

Thanks for looking and sharing your thoughts. Take care and happy shooting!

DB