Snowy Egret Punk Rocker

Gallery: AvianPosted December 10, 2011115 views6 comments

Bolsa Chica Wildlife Preserve Huntington Beach, CA
November 27, 2011
Nikon D-300 Nikon 200-400 lens 220 mm
ISO-400 f/6.3 -1 step 29.9 meter distance
Aperture priority

We were photographing a variety of birds at the preserve when we came upon this Snowy Egret. It was able to make its feathers on the top of his head go up and down at will. In this photo he is striding to another bank where a second Snowy was fishing. He was very aggressive chasing the other bird away. The more agitated he got, the more his feathers stood on end.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on December 10, 2011 at 8:22 PM

Patrick, Great pose and I like the vertical composition. Light was a bit harsh and seems to be over saturated IMO. See you soon.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on December 11, 2011 at 8:30 AM

I love your punk rock display and pose. The whole image appears over saturated and some of your whites are a little over exposed. Since you do not have the whole reflection, I might be tempted to crop up from the bottom to the edge of the red plant. I like that you can see the bottom in that water. Must have been fun watching him! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on December 11, 2011 at 8:49 AM

Sharon,
Thank you for your feedback. I made the change you suggested.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 11, 2011 at 9:00 AM

I love the look of the snowy with the "hair-do." To me the light was just too harsh when this was taken to make a really appealing image. I almost never shoot white birds except very early or late in the day, becuase of this issue. Just a suggestion.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on December 11, 2011 at 10:30 AM

Nice pose and hairstyle Patrick. If your where at 220mm, I might've either pulled back to include the entire reflection, or zoomed in for more detail on this great looking bird

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

Comment posted by Craig Strand on December 11, 2011 at 12:53 PM

Neat pose, wonderful "feather Doo."

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments