Great Egret Takeoff and Flight (5 Shots)

[Rekd]

From Barona Golf Course in San Diego.

This is the very first time I've been able to get a somewhat clear BIF. Sorry if it's overkill. Not PP'd except crop/re-size and the border. CC always welcome.

 

[icassell]

Good first BIF series. White birds are a terror -- getting them without blowing out some whites and underexposing other parts is extremely difficult and you've done pretty well. I think #1 and #2 would benefit from a bit of a crop to take the bird out of the center. My favorite is #4 -- the light is very pretty. I just wish he had his face a bit lit-up.

 

[Rekd]

Thanks.

We're going back to the resort this weekend, this time I'll have my new Canon 70-200 f2.8 L II :thumbup:

If I catch this guy again I'll go about it a bit differently.

 

[icassell]

Excellent! You're going to open up a whole new world for yourself with that lens

One other suggestion that may be helpful ... bird photographs tend to have more impact if the bird is looking more in your direction than facing away

 

[EricD]

Nice job...I agree with Ian on his comments. White birds are hard to expose right. For me i shot in raw format and I try to under expose the white on the bird...makes it a bit easier to post process.

Look forward to more!

 

[SecondShot]

I LOVE #3. What did you bump the ISO up to for the 4th shot? Seems like a lot of noise, esp. noticeable around his wings. It's a real shame as the furthest wing flapping just above the water is incredible!

#5 is nice, but a *little* too dark for my taste.

 

[Rekd]

Thanks, Ian. Always appreciate advice, and yours is usually good.

Eric, I haven't switched to raw yet. It's on my list.

I've about got the 3 basic settings to where I can choose a setting and have it come out close the first time (ISO, shutter speed and aperture, but I haven't attempted to take on metering yet. I've paid much more attention to what I need to look for when composing, ie white birds against dark backgrounds, white-wash at the beach etc.

SecondShot, I was shooting at 1/4000 and 2000 ISO messing around with a couple of fish that were battling it out with the ducks when I saw this guy. I started walking towards him slowly taking a few shots knowing he'd be taking off real soon so I didn't try to change the settings. As he flew away I was turning towards the sun. Those last few shots were literally one second apart from each other and the apertur went from 9 to 36

Here's #3:

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Exposure: 1/4000 sec
Aperture: f/9.0
Focal Length: 95 mm
ISO Speed: 2000
Exposure Bias: +1/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

File Size: 2.2 MB
File Type: JPEG
MIME Type: image/jpeg
Image Width: 2048
Image Height: 1365
Encoding Process: Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample: 8
Color Components: 3
Orientation: Horizontal (normal)
X-Resolution: 72 dpi
Y-Resolution: 72 dpi
Date and Time (Modified): 2010:06:26 15:18:48
Artist: Matt Finley
YCbCr Positioning: Co-sited
Copyright: Matt Finley
Exposure Program: Shutter speed priority AE
Date and Time (Original): 2010:06:26 15:18:48

Here's #4:

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Exposure: 1/4000 sec
Aperture: f/16.0
Focal Length: 95 mm
ISO Speed: 2000
Exposure Bias: +1/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

File Size: 3.0 MB
File Type: JPEG
MIME Type: image/jpeg
Image Width: 5184
Image Height: 3456
Encoding Process: Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample: 8
Color Components: 3
X-Resolution: 1
Y-Resolution: 1
Orientation: Horizontal (normal)
Date and Time (Modified): 2010:06:26 15:18:49
Artist: Matt Finley
YCbCr Positioning: Co-sited
Copyright: Matt Finley
Exposure Program: Shutter speed priority AE
Date and Time (Original): 2010:06:26 15:18:49

Here's #5:

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Exposure: 1/4000 sec
Aperture: f/36.0
Focal Length: 95 mm
ISO Speed: 2000
Exposure Bias: +1/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

File Size: 2.4 MB
File Type: JPEG
MIME Type: image/jpeg
Image Width: 2048
Image Height: 1365
Encoding Process: Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample: 8
Color Components: 3
Orientation: Horizontal (normal)
X-Resolution: 72 dpi
Y-Resolution: 72 dpi
Date and Time (Modified): 2010:06:26 15:18:50
Artist: Matt Finley
YCbCr Positioning: Co-sited
Copyright: Matt Finley
Exposure Program: Shutter speed priority AE
Date and Time (Original): 2010:06:26 15:18:50

 

[Rekd]

Here's a little tighter crop from #3