Eyes on the prize -Great egret

[Randy Stout]

This great egret was imaged at Little Estero during the recently concluded Southwest Florida Presidents Day IPT. Great crew, lots of fun!

D700 600 f/4 @f/4.5 ISO 640 SS 1/3200 fill flash with SB900 beamer

Post: selective sharpening on fish and face, small crop from top and left

To me all the story here is in the eyes/bill/fish area, so the shallow DOF plays that up

As always, thoughts and advice appreciated.

[gail bisson]

Hi Randy,
Very nice! I like the square composition. Terrific IQ and love the eye on the fish and the water droplets. Perfect exposure on the whites. I like your train of thought with this one and am amazed at what you guys think about when taking a picture. I am still at the "fire away and make sure I don't blow the whites" stage!
Gail

[Gary Esman]

Glad to see that all of you had such a great trip. Really looking forward to seeing the shots! The shallow DOF here does bring the eye into the head area of the shot, but with the majority of the bird out of focus it is hard to keep my eyes there. I wish for more eye contact on the Egret. Great IQ as Gail mentioned and like the water droplets.

Gary.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, welcome back and sounds like you guys had lots of opportunities, and lots of fun. Excellent whites, and good use of flash which looks nice and subtle. The shallow DOF has turned out well, tack sharp where it counts, and love the few flying droplets. Im not too keen on the squarish crop, so coming in a touch from the left, and a little more from the right is the way I may have gone. Looking forward to more from your trip.

[Karl Egressy]

The shallow DOF works here very well, Randy.

[Robert Holguin]

Very nice shot. I really like the shallow DOF. Exposed very well and I like the water drops.
Well done.