David Kepley
April 2026 - High Key Snowy Egret
Original
About the Image(s)
Well I’ve returned from a very rewarding trip to Merritt Island, FL, where I participated in a bird photography workshop. We were encouraged to try new techniques and approaches, which is of course how you expand your photographic skill set! Here is an image of a snowy egret. I lighted the background to give it a high key look. Impactful?
Canon R7, Canon 200-800mm lens shot at 900mm. 1/800 sec, f9.0, ISO 4000. I used the usual LRC sliders and of course cropped out the tail of the bird on the left. .
7 comments posted
David - This is a clean, controlled, and technically well executed image with good feather detail with a reflection that adds both visual interest and a bit of elegance. As presented if feels like more of a refined technical study than a storytelling image, nonetheless, the simplicity works.
The composition could be refined a bit, so I cropped to a 5x7 format and saturated and brightened the subject's lores a bit to help it pop. Good for you trying something new, something I don't do enough of.
Posted: 04/01/2026 15:32:36
The composition could be refined a bit, so I cropped to a 5x7 format and saturated and brightened the subject's lores a bit to help it pop. Good for you trying something new, something I don't do enough of.
Posted: 04/01/2026 15:32:36
Butch, thanks for taking the time to review and comment on this image. I keep wondering I should add more canvas to the top and right side of the image to give the bird some room to look into and potentially to move into, rather than dead centering the bird. What do you and others think? Posted: 04/01/2026 15:38:04
David - I gave this quite a bit of thought - and to be honest, I am very partial to symmetry (top and bottom) and out of the camera crops, i.e., 5x7 and 4x6 and I don't think Nikon, Canon and the like chose those accidentally - I could be wrong though, it's happened before :-) - I simply preferred the 5x7 to the rectangle you chose - love the simplicity. Posted: 04/01/2026 15:42:20
Well, you certainly came home with an impactful image from your trip to Florida! As a high key image this is about as good as it gets. The whites are white and the blacks are black that that creates about as much contrast as you can get. There is excellent sharpness throughout and the image retains acceptable detail in the feathers. Technically this is excellent. With this ultimately being an extremely minimalistic and high key image it is well within the world of fine art. This the final crop becomes a maker's choice. If you like the square, so be it. To me the image feel unbalanced and sort of "clunky". If you placed the bird in the center then the square feels more comfortable. If you are going to position the bird on the left, perhaps the 5x7 format may be more comfortable. Posted: 04/02/2026 19:53:33
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments. I need to wrestle with the right format. You and butch both have recommended centering the bird. I'll try that out in lrc to see what looks right. Thanks again! Posted: 04/02/2026 21:12:35
Hi David,
This is a strong minimalist, graceful and beautiful image, with a high key treatment. The mood is subdued and calm. The bird is placed nicely in the frame, with enough space in front of the beak to give the bird a place to look into. Bird seems a bit over-sharpened to me. I, too, love the simplicity. Posted: 04/06/2026 23:46:59
This is a strong minimalist, graceful and beautiful image, with a high key treatment. The mood is subdued and calm. The bird is placed nicely in the frame, with enough space in front of the beak to give the bird a place to look into. Bird seems a bit over-sharpened to me. I, too, love the simplicity. Posted: 04/06/2026 23:46:59
David, this is a beautiful high-key image. What a great subject for this artistic technique. The bright yellow lores are just enough color to attract attention to the face. I like the framing you chose, with the space on top and to the right. It gives me a sense that the bird is in a place with water stretching out beyond it. Lovely image. Posted: 04/18/2026 23:53:15