Great Egret
Closeup of a Great Egret in breeding plumage and colors
Closeup of a Great Egret in breeding plumage and colors
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Mar, 2016Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 22
Creative Winter Award
Hero Award
Lucky 3 Award
Member Selection Award
Spring Selection Award
Way To Go
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
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Behind The Lens
Location
While in Florida during the early spring of 2016, I had the opportunity to go into Gatorland in Orlando before it opened for the general public as part of a photographers pass. Photo opportunities at Gatorland are just amazing.Time
This particular took was taken at 8:11am on March 11, 2016.Lighting
The lighting that morning was typical early morning Florida, mostly sunny.Equipment
I shot the image with a Nikon D810 using the Sigma 160-500 f/5.6-6.3 OS HSM (Contemporary) zoom lens, mounted on a carbon fiber tripod, with a gimbal tripod head.Inspiration
I spend a lot of my time shooting images of birds and have taken many of Great Egrets. I took this particular shot as something different than the normal closeup head shot portrait. I wanted to focus on and highlight the Great Egrets' eye and beak.Editing
I almost always shoot in raw, so post-processing is a necessity. For this image, I adjusted the white balance, as well as reducing the highlights and whites to bring out the feather detail. I also brought the saturation levels up some on the yellows and greens to ensure that they were closer to the breeding colors that the Egret was displaying. Finally, I cropped the image some to remove the little bit of green background on the left that was distracting.In my camera bag
Since my primary focus is birds and wildlife, I typically carry a Nikon D810 body, the Sigma 160-600 f/5.6-6.3 OS HSM (C) zoom lens and a Tokina 17-35 f/4 zoom wide angle for landscapes. Additionally, I keep a flash with me for those times that some fill light is required.Feedback
Have a lot of patience. Bird and wildlife photography is not for the impatient. In order to get the best light, it is necessary to be out on location before the sun comes up. Birds are most active early in the morning and late in the evening just before the sun sets. Pay attention to where the sun is when shooting. It is very important to have the sun behind you so that the bird is in the light.
