Cindy Marple
February 2025 - Attitude
Original
About the Image(s)
About: Snowy Egrets are relatively common at the local park I photograph at, so I try to be on the lookout for opportunities to capture something different than the many photos of them I already have. I love the way that backlight emphasizes their showy feather displays when they’re chasing off other birds. I liked the way that the clump of grass sort of mimics the raised feathers and gives a compositional counterpoint to the bird. As usual for this type of situation, I went to full manual exposure mode and took test shots to dial in the look I wanted. Then kept shooting with those settings.
Processing: I did clean up a couple of the bigger bright spots, but opted to leave the smaller ones- should I clean them up, too? Other than the crop, processing was minimal- just a tweak on the levels tool to increase contrast, and small reduction in the highlight slider. No exposure adjustment.
Nikon Z8, 600mm, 1/2000 f/6.3 ISO640
8 comments posted
Well the title is reference to the demeanor / pose of the bird, it's all ruffled up as it's displaying at another bird. All those plumes wouldn't be as visible otherwise.
Thank you for the suggestions on the edits. With backlight I don't necessarily try to bring out a lot of detail, but I do like it lightened up a bit. I wouldn't go that far on the yellow facial skin though, it isn't naturally that bright at this time of year. Posted: 02/08/2025 22:41:12
With snowies I like this sort of back lit approach as it adds drama to the shot and is a quite different approach. I think the lighting and the hunched back make this and original and impactful image. Posted: 02/08/2025 21:24:14
Very imaginative to have captured a snowy backlit. It really shows off its feathers! I love the reflection! I might suggest a bit more canvas on the bottom to balance the room you have above the bird. If you find the bush on the left helps the composition, then I think adding more canvas at the bottom to balance the full reflection of the bird might be a way to go. Another possibility would be to crop out the bush on the left. Just try it and see if you like it. If you keep the bush, the I suggest you clone out the one bright seed pod on the ropight side of the bush. Finally, I woukd second opening up the shadows on the body of the bird. You will need to do this subtlety or it will look fake! Great shot! Posted: 02/18/2025 16:51:02