great egret
Aug, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo with a friend's camera before I even got mine. It was taken in Esopus, New York on the banks of the Hudson River.Time
This picture was taken at an odd time of day because I just happened to be in the area on a trip and I had about 15 minutes to spend, so despite the less than ideal 10:30AM morning sun, I managed to get a pretty cool shot of this great egret.Lighting
Being a white bird against a dark background, there is always a fight going on in the aperture and light settings and the risk of overexposure goes up like crazy. Despite this, I did not stop down at all, being a beginner and not comfortable at all with the camera settings. The bright sunlight obviously did not help at all, but I just focused on the eye and the yellow bill and was able to come away satisfied.Equipment
For this shot I used my friends Canon 50d with a Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM lense.Inspiration
I was walking along the river front and I saw a lone egret standing on a log and fishing, and I decided that it was a perfect candidate for a shot. It was my first egret sighting of the year, and being a birder guy, I knew that I wanted a picture of it. As it happened, the bird was quite tame and when I crept up slowly, it turned and walked really slowly down the log, all the while eying me. This gave me the chance to shoot the picture with its foot caught up in the air in a majestic frame.Editing
Yes, I did a bit of editing of the picture, but nothing special. I just fiddled a bit with the light and contrast as well as the coloration.In my camera bag
In my bag I carry a Canon 40d camera body with a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM UD Telephoto Zoom Lense and a Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM Standard Zoom Lens. I do not own a tripod, but hope one day to buy one and experiment with landscape photography.Feedback
My only advice is to be aware of the lighting, especially if you are shooting light against a dark background. If I had this shot back I would have compensated better although the light was really tricky.
