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Water Ballet #1

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Water Ballet #1

by Philip Hodgkins

Gallery: AvianPosted August 1, 20189,029 views14 comments

The Great Egret landed on a stick that was not attached but floating free. This is actually a series of 6 shots of which the first shot is posted and the subsequent shots follow in the comments. These really needed to be seen together; posting them one a day for six days robs them of the immediacy of the happening. However, if I am breaking a rule, I will go to one a day as an alternative. Keith or Nate, please let me know if the 5 comments need to be deleted and I will start over.

Thanks for looking and I hope everyone enjoys these.
**************************************************************************************************
These were shot in rapid sequence, so the techs were close to the same for all 6 shots, The size of each are slightly different
***************************************************************************************************
Camera Info:   Nikon D750, HH, braced in SUV window
Lens:   VR 300mm f/4E
Focal Length:   420mm
Focus Mode:   AF-C
AF-Area Mode:   Group Area AF
VR:   ON
Aperture:   f/7.1
Shutter Speed:   1/2500s
Exposure Mode:   Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.:   -0.7 EV
Metering:   Spot
ISO Sensitivity:   ISO 1000
+/- 50% of full frame
PP in LR/PS CC 2018, Topaz Studio, Camera Raw filter, TK sharpen for web @ 30%

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 1, 2018 at 2:59 PM

#2

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 1, 2018 at 3:00 PM

#3

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 1, 2018 at 3:01 PM

#4

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 1, 2018 at 3:01 PM

#5

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 1, 2018 at 3:03 PM

#6

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Ronald Murphy on August 1, 2018 at 4:10 PM

The pose of number 1 and the color palette of all are beautiful.

Registered on March 13, 2012, 279 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on August 1, 2018 at 5:09 PM

Beautiful light, Phil. The first pose is gorgeous and the rest are cool. It certainly managed some wild contortions. Well done.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on August 1, 2018 at 8:20 PM

Really nice series - they really do look like graceful dancers.

Especially like the sweet light, and the pose in #1.
Well-done!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on August 1, 2018 at 9:28 PM

A great catch! I like #1 best, needs to viewed large for the best results. A nice series of photos. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on August 2, 2018 at 3:23 PM

These are a great series, Phil, and especially good that they're posted in proper sequence. I seem to recall a previous comment, by a moderator as I recall, that multiple posts like this don't break the rules. In fact in this case I agree that they should be posted together for more impact, as they're more cohesive that way. It seems you got the best one first with the nice wing posture. Thanks for sharing the fun experience.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Norma Tareila Matl on August 2, 2018 at 8:50 PM

Phil a great series of Great Egret images. I like the water ballet 1. The wings curved and feet splashing in the water. I like them posted together. The light is perfect.

Registered on October 27, 2016, 229 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on August 3, 2018 at 7:01 AM

I like the first image best. The light, the color in the wings, the eye contact, the wing position and the raised foot all work together to make this an out standing image.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Peter J. Morrissey on August 4, 2018 at 5:07 PM

Hi Phil
You have produced a nice ballet here. Nice work.
peter

Registered on July 3, 2011, 188 Posts, 969 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Minish on August 5, 2018 at 1:24 AM

Excellent photo series, Philip! Very difficult shots shooting into the light that way but you handled it very well. There's lots of detail in the plumage and the back lit feathers are a nice bonus. Apparently you have better connections than I do. I posted my eagle series like this and it was determined that it wasn't appropriate so it was deleted and I had to repost it in the "Bird Photography" forum. I'm quite sure many bird photographers get great sequences like this that really need to be viewed at one time. The effect is completely lost when you have to space them a day apart plus people have to search out the previous posts among all the other photos to view the sequence. I hope it continues to be allowed. It adds another level of interest to the Nature Photographers Network in my opinion.

Registered on February 4, 2006, 625 Posts, 3583 Comments