photoartflightGreat Egret Landing Sequence
Posted on August 18, 2015
Sometimes it is fun to shoot a sequence showing action or wing positions. This Great Egret was flying into a tree which already had about 30 Egrets (Snowy, Little & Great) in it already. I was able to follow it in and show the sequence. It was moving fairly quickly and covered quite a bit of territory in this sequence. I used most of the images but bypassed a few that were to similar.
Great Egret Preening Feather
Posted on August 10, 2015
We finally saw a few more birds at the Celery Farm Natural Area. A Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Herons, and a Kingfisher with some smaller birds thrown in. This Great Egret flew in to a pile of sticks in the water not to far from us. It started preening and feathers started blowing away in the breeze. It was very harsh contrasty light, so I tried some fill flash and underexposed a little.
Great Egret Breeding Plumage
Posted on April 25, 2015
This time of year the Great Egrets are showing their Breeding Plumage. They are great to photograph showing the feathery feathers, long plumes in the back and colorful lore with green around the eyes. Depending on their position, the plumage shows up either more or less. Wait to get interesting angles, which usually does not take long as they are active birds. Also if it is windy, the feathers blow in the wind and spread out more for more impact. They are also large birds which helps fill the frame.
Great Egret Reflection
Posted on April 23, 2015
The Great Egret is a great photo subject, large to photograph & lots of stately poses. Especially when they are in the water with interesting reflections. They are also great to photograph in flight. This day there were Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets all around the Refuge, probably the most I have ever seen here.
Great Egret & Snowy Egret in early morning. Quite often you see Great Egrets in a group along with Snowys and Little Egrets interacting with each other.
Great Egret Flying At You
Posted on April 22, 2015
There were lots of Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets around the Refuge. On most you could see their breeding plumage. This Great Egret was flying in right at me and I liked the angle and head on approach coming at me, so I got a few quick shots. This one is my favorite.
Start Of The Day
Posted on April 20, 2015
When the Sun starts to rise, you see flocks of birds flying out into the sunrise to start the day, feeding and moving around the refuge. Some days you see Egrets fly out 1 by 1, or if you are lucky you might see large flocks of Egrets or Cormorants going out in waves. Even with a high ISO, you still get a slight movement blur because of the lack of light. But it adds to the sense of the darkness of early morning and the movement of the birds.
Cormorants crossing over before sunrise.
Cormorant Flock flying out across the horizon.
Early Morning Fly-out, before the sun came up.
Lone Egret heading out across the refuge before the sun came up.
Great Egret Landing Sequence
Posted on April 13, 2015
It was a slow morning at the Nature Preserve, but then an Egret flew in and landed on a pile of sticks in the water. Shooting a sequence showing the different wing positions in landing.
Great Egret In Golden Light
Posted on November 12, 2014
This Great Egret landed on the branch sticking out of the water. Then it started to fish for a meal. It was quite successful with its fishing endeavors. When finished the Egret flew off.
Great Egret In Morning Light
Posted on September 28, 2014
I found this Great Egret preening in the early morning light this morning at The Celery Farm Natural Area in Allendale, NJ. I like how the light was shining through the feathers giving dimension and textures from the side/backlighting. The Egret stayed for quite a while on this pile of sticks giving many photo opportunities. When time permits, if the subject is staying for a while, I try different compositions using horizontal or vertical panoramas, and/or focus blending. In time this Great Blue Heron came closer, but was too far behind to get both in focus. I shot 4 shots to create a focus stacked panorama of the two birds. I manually combined them with masks to keep the out of focus background with the bird images in focus.
Great Egret Preening. Four Shot Panorama w/ focus blending. 2 across, 2 down. Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens, Canon Series III 1.4X Teleconverter, f/11, 1/400 sec, -1.33 exposure compensation, ISO 400
Great Egret Preening. Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens, Canon Series III 1.4X Teleconverter, f/11, 1/640 sec, -1.33 exposure compensation, ISO 400
Great Egret. 4 shot vertical panorama. Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens, Canon Series III 1.4X Teleconverter, f/11, 1/500 sec, -1.33 exposure compensation, ISO 400
Tired of Posing. Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens, Canon Series III 1.4X Teleconverter, f/8, 1/800 sec, -1.33 exposure compensation, ISO 400
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