Reflections

[PeterD]

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta).

These birds can be incredibly difficult to photograph, particularly in bright sun.
I was quite pleased with this result as I also captured the water reflections on the bird's plumage.



Click here for larger image.

At high tide, these birds fly inland to roost, or in this case, carry on feeding. It was found on marshy grassland next to the Hayling Billy Trail.

Comments and CC, as always, welcome.

Thanks for viewing

[Stephen]

Re: Reflections

Beautiful picture Peter, I can't really fault it. I'd just like it BIGGER

[PeterD]

Re: Reflections

Beautiful picture Peter, I can't really fault it. I'd just like it BIGGER

Thank you Stephen

They are re-appearing now at the shoreline and surrounds from their summer nesting. It is incredible to think how well these birds have adjusted to our climate over the last few years. They are definately well established.

[Pops]

Re: Reflections

I like the subdued background which makes the egret stand out.
I can imagine their feathers being very soft to the touch

[PeterD]

Re: Reflections

I like the subdued background which makes the egret stand out.
I can imagine their feathers being very soft to the touch

Thank you for your comments Pops

I have never managed to get near enough to one to test the feathers, I think they like their own space too much

[Caz]

Re: Reflections

A real wow shot - beautiful reflections, excellent feather detail and well worth viewing the large version.

[PeterD]

Re: Reflections

A real wow shot - beautiful reflections, excellent feather detail and well worth viewing the large version.

Thank you Caz for viewing and your comments.

[Ian]

Re: Reflections

Beautiful shot, Peter - well metered too!

Ian

[PeterD]

Re: Reflections

Beautiful shot, Peter - well metered too!

Ian

Thank you Ian
These birds have always been the devil to get right under these conditions. At one time I though spot metering on the plumage was the answer but no, the surrounding background can suffer even though the plumage is right. I tend to use ESP metering and offsets to balance the whole image. It also cuts down any post-processing work. I tend to use camera RAW every time rather than jpg as I find these conditions, particularly, can give trouble to the output.
As an aside, I am using Lightroom 3 and find the presets it automatically gives are all over the shop and I am having to reset everything and start again from the RAW image. I wish they had not bothered with this feature!

[SeanStacy]

Re: Reflections

Wow, it's looking superb !
I wish that time I would be there to capture that pic.

[PeterD]

Re: Reflections

Wow, it's looking superb !
I wish that time I would be there to capture that pic.

Thank you for your very kind comments. Living here on the South Coast I get plenty of opportunities - there are so many of them