Great Egret
NIKON D810
Aperture f/5.6 ISO 400 Shutter 1/1000 Focal Length 500/1 
Pass Christian, Mississippi, US
Oct, 2019Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I really love going to a harbor to take shots of sail boats, shrimping boats, lighthouses, sunsets and shore birds. On this particular day, I decided to go to my favorite harbor in Pass Christian, Mississippi, which is only a short drive from my house. There’s always something of interest and I’m never disappointed.Time
I love doing photography in the early morning and late evening during the “golden hour.” On this particular evening, I decided, on the spur of the moment, to grab my camera equipment and head to the harbor. This particular photograph was taken on October 24th at 5:51pm and the lighting was fantastic.Lighting
This photograph was taken when the natural, “golden hour,” light was at its best. The sun was beginning to set and I had my back to the sun, which front lighted the Great Egret. I rarely take photographs when the sun is high overhead because the lighting tends to be harsh and there’s always shadows to contend with.Equipment
On that particular evening, I took my Nikon D810 with a AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens attached and a Manfrotto tripod, in hopes of getting some quality shore bird photographs. I, also, took an AF-S Nikkor 28-70 f/2.8D lens, strapped to my side, just in case I wanted to take some sunset and landscape shots. My settings for this particular shot was in manual mode, shutter speed at 1/1000 second, ISO at 400 and the aperture set at 5.6Inspiration
While walking up the boardwalk of the harbor, I noticed this Great Egret preening itself while it was standing on a handrail. I wanted to get some still shots but also be ready to take shots of the bird, in flight. So, I removed the camera from the tripod and walked in a zig zag pattern so as to not alarm the bird. The lighting was perfect and I wanted the bird to be front lit as much as possible. I had to increase the shutter speed because it was difficult to handhold such a heavy lens and I wanted to be ready in case the bird took flight. The Great Egret cooperated and I was able to get within 20’ for this shot.Editing
For this particular shot, I used Lightroom and started by cropping it just a little and decided to convert the original photograph to black and white. The natural light was so perfect that I thought it would be a great shot in black and white.In my camera bag
Usually, when I decide to go on a shoot, I don’t like to carry a bag, so I wear a photographers vest and put anything I think I might need in the pockets. On this particular shoot, I placed a lens cleaning cloth and a remote camera shutter release in the pockets. I carried a Manfrotto tripod on my back using a strap and had a AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D lens strapped to my side and hand carried the Nikon D810 with the AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR attached. I like to keep it as simple as possible.Feedback
Shore birds get nervous if you are staring straight at them and walking towards them. So, I try not to make eye contact and look at other things while walking in a zig zag pattern. With this particular bird, I was able to get within 20’, which was plenty close enough. When I’m shooting very skittish birds, like the Least Tern, I walk in a zig zap pattern, always looking away and when I get close enough, I lay down and cover myself with a sand colored sheet. I spread the tripod legs out to get the camera within 12” of the sand. When I do that, the Least Terns settle down and go back to their natural activities. To them, at that point, I’m no longer considered a threat. I always shoot in manual mode and in either RAW or RAW+JPEG Fine. Also, I use the back focus button instead of the shutter release button, to focus.
