GREAT EGRET

[gary ellwein]

Nikon D3s, Nikkor 600mm, 1.4TC, f5.6, 1/1250, iso 200, tripod. PP CS5, eliminated several birds in bg, blurred bg and noise reduction bg. USM egret. This was a long shot at 63 meters. C & C appreciated.

Gary

[Joel Eade]

You captured a great pose and I love the trailing water drops. The bird looks like it has just slightly a blue cast to it on my MacBook Pro. The BG is nice, you did well cloning out the other birds.

[James Shadle]

Gary,
You captured the decisive moment very well and I like your choice of composition.
Nice and sharp as well.

Your image appears to have substantially chipped whites(areas with no detail). How did the histogram look?
Based on my math (I only have a GED so double check) @ ISO 200 the exposure value for the whitest white on a full sun day should be 1/1250 @ F7.1

That is the reciprocal value of the sunny 16 rule - 1/3 stop for a white subject. Sunny 16 for a middle tone = 1/200 @ F16 or 1/1600 @ F5.6 or 1/1250 @ F6.3
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...e-F-Stop-Chart

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Gary,

Do not fall for that, I only have a GED tactic, he is sharp as a tack. As brother James said, the composition is super. An easy way to get the shutter speed up is higher ISO. I never use 200 for birds and when the ISO is doubled a full stop of light is gained. Hence, 400 would have supported twice the shutter speed if needed or a narrow aperture. Basically, when shootings whites in bright light make sure the detail is not clipped on the histogram.

Given all that focal length and the technique needed for such a shot you are on the right track. Are you shooting Manual or AV, either way practice making small exposure adjustments. Moreover if the EV setup is in 1/3's adjust one click to the right and left to make changes as needed without looking. This must be second nature and remember when shooting whites in full light adjust an extra -1/3 or so and go from there. Keep em coming Gary, you are getting better every day.

[gary ellwein]

James, I'm most impressed. I posted the the wrong data. Correct info is f5.6, 1/5000, iso 800, matrix. I think it was aperature priority. In ACR I was able to add 0.30 before the whites began to blow. This was back in September before I got Robert O'Toole's " Nikon DSLR USER GUIDE FOR THE D3s ". I am now trying to use manual as much as possible with auto iso up to 3200. Recently realized I need to use Exposure compensation with this set-up. Going back to work part time and very cold temps have cut into my time in the field. I'll be in Yellowstone over Christmas. Hope to get a few keepers. Thanks to all for C & C.

Gary