Egrets

[dbirdsong]

I spent a little while on Thursday trying to get close to this egret...
Here are some of my attempts to get close.

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If you look close you can see a Blue Heron in the picture too, I didn't notice him till I started cropping and editing the pic.

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If you care to see the rest please visit my website
http://davebirdsong.com/egrets/

D70, Sigma 400mm

 

[Steve S]

HI Dave

Using my IE's EXIF Viewer, I see you shot in Shutter priority. That may be fine for flight/action shots where the shutter speed is mission critical, but in these instances, you would've been better served using Aperture priority, then controlling your shutter speed through opening or stopping down your aperture, and your ISO setting. Using Shutter priority, in order for the cam to maintain your selected speed, it had to stop way down to f11, f13, & f7, respectively, on these shots. f11 & f13 is too much! I also see, particularly in the last shot, that you really needed to use some -EV comp of maybe -.7-1 EV. The highlights are blown, ie missing, on much of the white bird. That said, good effort, and keep practicing! Hope this helps.

 

[dmwphoto]

#2 is very nicely composed. What Steve suggested will make pictures like these really "pop" .
Are these birds near you in Michigan? Looks like a very nice marsh area to me.

 

[Flew]

Hey Dave, cool shots. I'll be coming to Michigan week-after-next on a business trip. Looks like I need to bring my gear. 8)

 

[drueter]

Nice composition on these, Dave! I agree with Steve's suggestions to help you get even better shots in the future. I've got a Great Egret that hangs out around my yard all the time and I've taken hundreds of photos of him as I've been learning how to get the exposures and settings right (and many of those have blown highlights!!). Keep practicing, learning, and posting! -- the folks in the Cafe will give lots of good feedback!

 

[dbirdsong]

Thanks for the tips, the sun disappeared while I was out taking those pictures. In fact I got rained on while I was out there.
I will try using a smaller aperture next time I am out there.

Dave

 

[in1way]

Nice shooting Dave, particularly like the second pic. You could always follow Jen's example, kick your shoes off and wade out to the bird and get a full on headshot. The following day you hand feed them...LOL

 

[dbirdsong]

Nice shooting Dave, particularly like the second pic. You could always follow Jen's example, kick your shoes off and wade out to the bird and get a full on headshot. The following day you hand feed them...LOL

That is ok... I had to hide behind trees to get these shots..