Egret

I was photographing at Willow Falls State Park last week when I noticed something white moving amoung the Forget-Me-Nots. Turns out it was an Egret. I was able to wade up the side of the river and get some close-up pictures.

Phil Schwarz
E2311 530th Ave
Menomonie, WI 54751
e-mail: schwarzp@uwstout.edu
web: http://philipschwarz.zenfolio.com/

Nice shot, Phil.

I wonder if it could be brightened up a bit, especially the eye and face.

Phil, Congratulations for getting so close. I really like the fact that the color of the flowers matches the color of the beak. The lighting situation here is not working in your favor. As Lance mentioned, the image would be stronger if the face of the bird were not in shadow. As it is, my attention is pulled past the bird to the hot spots in the water behind. Not sure what your shooting parameters were, but a more shallow DOF might have softened the background a bit more.

Phil,
When I lived in California in the 90's I shot lots of egrets. I really love shooting them. Then, moving to the Midwest it became harder since they are not as prolific.
I'd probably crop off the left side a bit to eliminate the leaves in the lower left side. Since the bird is facing right this would work as well. There's also a slight vertical line bisecting the tail of the bird that bothers me.

Try the shadows lightning feather in PS and adjust the mid tones a bit.

With a little work you have a decent image.

Good job on getting this though. I hope everyone knows how difficult even getting this one was.

I DO!
JG.

Thanks for the input. I'll make some changes in the photo.