JoanLoBo
FollowSnowy egret tending to her chicks.
Snowy egret tending to her chicks.
Read less
Read less
Views
7979
Likes
Awards
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in Earth Day 2016 Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Birds Of A Feather Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Old And New Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
Top Ranks
Categories
NatureLoverJJWal
December 22, 2014
Wow Great find. You know what I really love this bird. i love the feather. Voted the Art of Wildlife
JoanLoBo
December 26, 2014
Thanks Gigi, I agree the feathers almost look surreal. Thanks for your vote.
JoanLoBo
April 08, 2016
Thanks everybody. These babies were taken in Florida at the alligator farm in st Augustine. They have a great rookery there.
jimfbauty
May 21, 2016
Amazing. Beautiful. You must have been watching this nest for just the right moment...
marisaliberato
May 23, 2016
love it, you have done a great job with the background as I know its usually very messy, great job
CathieMoog
May 28, 2016
This is an amazing image. I just visited a rookery so I know how hard it is to get an angle through the trees. All of the birds have really sharp focus. I love everything about it. Well done!
JoanLoBo
April 02, 2017
Thank you Becky..I am returning to this location in 2 weeks, I hope I get some more great images.
shelleytemplelarter
August 21, 2021
You’re an amazing photographer!
Wow!
Absolutely a breathtaking photo.
Wow!
Absolutely a breathtaking photo.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
Have you ever been to St. Augustine in Northern Florida? It's a quaint historic town with cobblestone roads, beautiful architecture and great restaurants. While we were visiting we came upon a place called the "Alligator Farm" Called this because of the boardwalk that takes you through the park that is built over a river of alligators both big and small. Also in this park is a rookery. A reknown rookery that is frequented by bird photographers from around the world from March-June. Here you will find snowy egrets in abundance as well as Great egrets, Roseate Spoonbill, cattle egret, as well as many other bird species with their chicks. It is here that I took this photo of this Great Egret tending to her chicks.Time
The best time for bird photos, especially white bird photos is in early morning or late afternoon. This photo was taken early morning while the chicks were very active and hungry.Lighting
The nest was hidden among the thicket of the trees and the glowing light was sneaking in so perfectly lighting up their nest. I used available light and shot for the whites, being careful not to over expose them.Equipment
I used my Canon 7D mark II on a tripod with a 70-200 mm lens.Inspiration
The little babies interacting with their moms inspired me to take this photo...A lot of patience was required, I watched and waited, snapping many photos waiting for the perfect composition of the three baby chicks interacting with their mom.Editing
I did some post processing in Adobe photoshop CS6 as well as two Nik plug ins, color effects pro and Viveza. Post processing included working with a raw image, adjusting contrast, shadows, clarity and levels. I also cloned out some of the distracting twigs around the nest in order to keep focus on the baby chicks.In my camera bag
In my bag you will mostly find my Canon 5d mark III, unfortunately I dropped my 7D. My lens of choice are my 70-200L lens, a wide angle lens and my macro lens. I often pack my flash too and a reflector , a light meter, and I never leave home without my tripod. Sharp photos are a priority.Feedback
The best advice I can give for shooting white birds in the wild is, expose for the white of the birds, don't worry if your shadows go dark, expose for the whites, and watch that you aren't clipping the highlights. Keep your shutter high, to freeze the constant action of the baby birds. and use an aperture of f8 or f 11 to ensure a sharp image. Put your camera on a tripod and watch. The best shots are when mom is feeding the babies because she will hoover over them and create an interesting composition.