Snowy Egret
One of the many birds that can be found at the Alligator Farm.
One of the many birds that can be found at the Alligator Farm.
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Apr, 2018Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery. While the Alligator Farm is a zoological venue, the rookery is an open rookery with birds migrating to the location seasonally. It is very popular with photographers and they offer a pass for photographers to take advantage of early and late times.Time
This photo was taken during the morning just about sunrise. The location has many trees that shade the rookery and on this particular morning there was a good bit of fog or mist. The lighting was not ideal requiring high ISOs. In this case a fellow photographer who was using a flash fired their flash as I pressed the shutter and so I benefitted from some of that artificial light.Lighting
As mentioned prior the lighting was natural and not ideal. It was just luck another photographer was using flash and I fired my shot as their flash was going off. Other shots I took that morning suffered from a great deal more noise than I prefer. I choose not to use flash as the location is popular with photographers which results in quite a few people trying to get shots, as well as the flash can tend to disturb the birds who are beginning their nesting cycle.Equipment
The camera was a Canon 5D Mark III with the Canon 100mm - 400mm EF Mark II F/4.5 - 5.6L mounted on a tripod with gimbal. I did not use a flash and the focal length was 400mm. I was using auto ISO and the Shutter Speed was 1/320 using Aperture Priority. I was also using a cable release to fire the shutter.Inspiration
The Alligator Farm offers photographers who are willing to pay an annual fee the opportunity to photograph in the rookery prior to the public being allowed in. They also offer an after hours slot as well, but I have not used that time period to photograph. This was my first season with the photographers pass and thought it would offer me the opportunity to be close to the birds and get some difficult to get photos. This particular bird was actively displaying the breeding plumage that photographers seek. The distance was approximately 20 feet and there was an unobstructed view.Editing
The only post processing was done with Lightroom where I raised the exposure a bit (+1.75) and lifted the blacks. I always apply the Lens Corrections and in this case, I used an 8.5X11 crop.In my camera bag
Fortunately the Alligator Farm has an elevated boardwalk and the distance you have to walk is maybe 50 yards. Because of that, when I go there I use a rolling cart to carry my gear. In that way I carry a lot of equipment in case it's needed. At the time I had two camera bodies, 4 lenses, a 1.4 teleconverter, filters, and extra batteries. That's on top of the extra cards, cable release both manual and wireless, lens cleaning materials, and lens collars. Since that time I have scaled back the gear I carry and find its less stressful. I decide beforehand what I want to shoot and I carry only what is needed.Feedback
In a setting such as the Alligator Farm I think patience is the most important virtue and be willing to put up with some bad behavior from guests. Whenever birds are active and in plain view the crowd can press in from all sides. While most photographers are good, there are a few that will stake out a spot and and in some case move in on you. The best advice is to share and not hog the spots. When photographing in the wild, my advice is the same. Practice patience and watch the birds. Learning their habits goes a long way to getting good shots. You also have to be willing to put up with bad weather and early mornings. Lastly it is very important to know your gear and its limitations. You don't want to be messing around trying to figure out how to use settings when your window of opportunity is short. Experiment and don't hesitate to take shots, you just might get lucky.
