Cattle Egret In "Just Past Peek" Breeding Colours.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Photographed at Indian Lakes Estates. I say "just past peek" as this gy's bill was peeling alot in some spots and some clean-up on it was done in post. It's colours were still amazing...I had never seen a Cattle Egrets in breeding plumage in person before! I love how they pull their heads back for every step, it makes for quite a strut at times. I was going for an image that showed a bit of that quirk.

Canon 7D + 800mm f/5.6 (graciously offered by Artie, thanks!), manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/2000s., f/7.1, ISO 400 (histogram checked), natural light, handheld from car (lens braced on window ledge), FF.

[Ofer Levy]

Sweet image! Stunning light and colours and excellent exposure control. Sharp with awesome detail. I am not crazy about the way the body is cut but in this posture you didn't have much alternative. Put the 100-400 in the bin....

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

Colors, sharpness, exposure, subject isolation, angle in frame, all excellent.

Long necked birds always present a bit of a cropping challenge, esp. when stretched out like this one. You absolutely need some body to balance out that long neck. I agree with Ofer that a bit more body would have worked well, but pretty hard to move quickly when sitting in the car!

Sure seems like you maxed out your opportunities while in Florida!

Cheers

Randy

[gail bisson]

Hi Daniel,
I really like this. I think you have captured the"strut" really well with this composition.
Great BG. Your exposure is spot on.
What did you think of the 800? I have never tried one but they appear to be amazingly sharp,
Gail

[Don Lacy]

Love the pose and colors of the egret they are beautiful when breeding. I will never try the 800 as I know I would have to sell body parts so i could buy one afterwards

[arash_hazeghi]

Great portrait sharp with excellent BG, exposure details. Would crop a bit from bottom and right the emphasize the long neck more

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Really nice Daniel Great light detail and breeding colors

[rajojomanik]

Wonderful stand and background on this Cattle Egret. Well done Daniel.

[Satish Ranadive]

Sweet portrait.Lovely colors.