Angelic Egret

Gallery: AvianPosted April 23, 201388 views7 comments

This is my first post on NPN, so I hope you all enjoy! I occasionally go to Reid Park in Tucson, AZ, to photograph the many ducks and other birds that congregate around the ponds. This Great Egret captured the majority of my attention on this day as it allowed me to come in close while it repeatedly flew out in attempt to catch some dinner and then back to the same spot. As it was late afternoon, the water was darkened by the shadows of the surrounding trees. I love the contrast of the illuminated bird with the underexposed background. I realize that the crop is pretty close, but it was originally horizontal. I cropped to make it vertical in order to highlight the framing effect of the wings and to distract the viewer from the fact that the bottom half of the bird is missing. I also like the intensity of the bird's "expression", and I think the water droplets also add to the picture. Any comments and critiques are welcome! Thanks!

Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm lens @ 160mm, f/5.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 800

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on April 23, 2013 at 11:05 PM

Sean,
Welcome to the site. If you persist posting, I think you will get a lot out of it. In the beginning I was pierced by comments of others and was sensitive about it. It has been an interesting exercise to go back to my early images, read the comments and note that the people were actually gentle. That said about my feeble psychology, the comments and coaching I have received on NPN have made me a much better photographer and processor. Now about your shot. I love the wing position and the water drops. It is bold to crop as tightly as you have and that makes it very interesting. The whites are blown out and the feather detail is lost. I must confess that when shooting white birds that is my greatest challenge. Many of the others who comment are far more capable to giving you a critique than I. Keep shooting, keep posting and I know I am anxious to see what you post in the future.

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

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on April 23, 2013 at 11:14 PM

Sean: Welcome to NPN. Thanks for sharing your image. The wing position you captured is very nice. I understand your crop based on your comments, but it still feels too tight in the frame as there is no virtual room for the bird to move. Whites are always a challenge to capture and hold the detail. Unfortunately in this shot the whites are enough over exposed that the detail is lost. Shooting against a very dark background your meter was fooled into over exposure. I'm assuming you were in an exposure mode other than manual to capture this. The larger version that you posted appears to be the same size. You can post a 1200 px (on the long edge) image for the optional larger version. It really helps for viewers to see the details and provide more insight for comments.
We look forward to seeing more of your images, and having your comments on the images other post.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on April 23, 2013 at 11:16 PM

Sean, thats a beautiful image... love the pose, and yes looks like an angel. Well done ...

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Claude Dagenais on April 24, 2013 at 6:44 AM

Great pose Sean, you caught a special moment. Technicals will improve and this is a great place to learn!

Registered on April 10, 2013, 56 Posts, 571 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Rebmann on April 24, 2013 at 2:43 PM

Nice shot. To me the bird looks like an orchestra conductor.

Paul

Registered on July 17, 2012, 31 Posts, 122 Comments

Comment posted by John Sherman on April 24, 2013 at 2:54 PM

I like the crop as this to me is more about form and balance than about story telling - it holds it's own as viewed as an abstract. The blown-out feathers might be saved in post - might not. What adjustments/software are you using for post? Looks a tad soft in this small version, but that could be small file size.

Registered on March 10, 2013, 31 Posts, 142 Comments

Comment posted by Sean Anderson on April 24, 2013 at 5:11 PM

Thank you all so much for the valuable feedback! I was curious how others would perceive the whites, so I am glad I have a better idea of what to look for in the future. As for the larger image being the same size, that is my mistake. I just need more practice resizing images and understanding how the website works. As far as color adjustments, I have not ventured into that realm yet. Almost all my pictures are just cropped (if anything). I will be sure to note any alterations and exposure adjustments in future posts. Thanks again!

Registered on April 23, 2013, 6 Posts, 2 Comments