Bad Boys

Gallery: AvianPosted May 29, 201186 views7 comments

Although traditional avian images feature one subject or two at the most, I'm drawn to flocks of wading birds, especially Snowy and Great egrets. No other waders put on a show like these, except maybe for Little Blue herons.

Another reason for shooting birds in numbers is that they live in groups, whether at roost or at the table. So to really portray them in their transient community I feel it's a good idea to wade in and shoot(actually hide from them and shoot).

The problem with photographing a flock is one of visual confusion. How to single out the subject from the rest?

In this image I've toned down the other birds and the background, so as to minimize the confusion of line and form, yet retain enough as a supporting role in this mad play.

I'll be interested to know your thoughts.

D3s 300x1.4 f/5.6 1/1500 Iso 1600

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Clayton Musgrove on May 29, 2011 at 6:32 PM

I agree confusion comes with the territory often Wayne. You have captured it in spectacular fashion. The whole thing just flows. I love the white birds on the dark background. If this isn't full frame I would like to see the upper birds wing tip included. But still a great image.

Registered on February 6, 2010, 55 Posts, 235 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on May 29, 2011 at 8:18 PM

Other than isolating the subjects from the rest, the other problem is obtaining all three in focus. To my surprise, your f/5.6 aperture setting did the job very well here. I'm not so sure about isolation by decreasing exposure on the other birds in this case. One incidental result is that the bill of the foreground bird becomes invisible. Also, the other birds appear as partial birds with their bills missing too. I would have been tempted to try blurring the bg here and not decreasing the exposure as much. All that said, this is still a beautiful and unusual shot.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on May 29, 2011 at 11:27 PM

Good job of reducing the "confusion", and that's always a good thing..with us humans anyway ;-)
Amazing that you got the three so well in focus at F/5.6, sometimes things just seem to "stack" up right :)
The top bird gets my vote for chief instigator, he/she really put on a show here Wayne

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on May 30, 2011 at 3:20 AM

What a capture Wayne! Marvelous action and toning down the rest of the birds in the background works real well :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on May 30, 2011 at 9:20 AM

Wayne,
I really like how the three in focus egrets draw my eyes through the image, the action you captured and the exposure management. I'd like to have the same opportunity with so many birds.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on May 30, 2011 at 6:47 PM

Wayne:
I like your strategy of trying to capture the action and interaction of groups of birds. Getting a good shot of one bird is difficult enough and difficulty seems to increase exponentially with number of birds, especially if they are in flight. That increase in difficulty adds value to this capture. You've done a great job of capturing the action and reducing the confusion.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on May 31, 2011 at 11:26 AM

Love the chaotic nature to the scene! Great action and I like the other egrets in the background. They do put on a great show!

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments