Beautiful capture of the moment. The vertical crop and the position of the mother above the chicks and leaning towards them really draws your eye in. What a warm and dynamic image. Very nice. I am very curious as to how you meter a shot like this, when the birds have bright white feathers and you have dark foliage? I have tried spot metering and multi-metering with mixed results. This one is perfectly exposed.   Posted: 07/05/2025 16:03:19

I shoot with a Canon R5 and I use Evaluative metering, Highlight Alert ON and when shooting birds my starting point is -1/3 to -2/3 stop and go from there. Thanks for your comments   Posted: 07/05/2025 16:31:58

Butch, first of all, a great photograph with a strong visual story. I have photographed many times at the Aligator Farm and although there are hundreds of birds, I think it is one of the most difficut photo enviorments. There are palm tree fronds everywhere, distracting from the subjects. There are lots of back light bright spots comming through the trees, not to mention white birds in the background.
I thought, being the "crop guy", maybe focusing in on the birds would remove some of the distracting stuff.
On another note I am not sure why the 3 chicks each has a different shade head (blue, yellow, orange), just curious. Speaking of color, I am always amazed at the bright orange of the Snowy Egrets lores, they do not seem natural (they are!). I really enjoyed discussing a photograph that I have often struggled with!   Posted: 07/08/2025 13:41:26

Roy - I can why you cropped in, to focus on the story. At the same time, I'm a member of Mile Hi Wildlife Photography Club in Denver (https://mhwpc.org/) one of the premier nature/wildlife clubs in the country, and I've never seen a nature - wildlife image (not a portrait) with an appendage clipped even get an honorable mention, much less win anything. I always appreciate your comments.   Posted: 07/09/2025 23:47:56

I got to visit Alligator Farm in St Augustine for the 1s time this year. It was incredible, but agree that sometimes the environment can be challenging to photograph. This tells a wonderful story and you captured all 3 babies engaged with Mom - usually I get 2 out of 3. Good catch.   Posted: 07/13/2025 01:04:22

Thank you Julia, I felt I came away with 3 competition worthy shots, which I was pleased with for a morning shoot with gathering crowds. Thanks for your comments on this one   Posted: 07/13/2025 02:23:07

What a splendid image!! The lineup of the chicks for mealtime looks choreographed.:) The image belongs on the cover of National Geographic! Could you share your focal length and aperture?   Posted: 07/13/2025 21:49:04