In All His Beauty
Uploaded: February 22, 2008
The great egret strikes a poise in his regal attire.
f/6.3, 1/500, ISO:400, FL:600mm, Canon f/2.8L IS prime lens w/ 2X II Canon expander - Feb. 9, 2008
Animal Contest entry
Exif: F Number: 6.3, Exposure Bias Value: 0.67, ExposureTime: 1/500 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 400, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 600.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS 20D
Tiia Vissak February 22, 2008
a great capture! #860806Dick Jenkins February 22, 2008
Thanks Tiia. I got together with Cheryl Molennor for a few days recently and photographed the wading/mating birds. It was a most enjoyable trip. We'll make the trip one more time when the chicks are about to fly from their nests. The low light coupled with a nearly pure white subject still has me scratching my head. I want more feather details. #5532167Joan Powell February 22, 2008
Excellent capture !! #5533214Cheryl E. Molennor February 22, 2008
OMG Dick!!! Absolutelly stunning! Excellent pose and detail. My favorite yet! #5533919Dick Jenkins February 22, 2008
Thanks Cheryl. You must know all these birds personally being that they hang out in your neck of the woods. The full image contains the female on the nest but this guy looked so regal on his high roost that I cropped him out in portrait format. I pushed saturation quite a bit to get that lovely turquoise to pop out. #5534073Dick Jenkins February 24, 2008
Thank you Joan for your comments. The mating ritual is quite a sight to witness. #5546317Charles Davis February 26, 2008
Beautiful capture, Dick! The comp, pose, color, DOF and clarity are perfect. Well done! #5558374Dick Jenkins February 26, 2008
Thanks Charles. You've got some awesome bird shots and action shots in your gallery. Too bad we couldn't all get together for a shoot. I love your work. As I've lamented many times before...I'd love to learn the secret to capturing good details on white birds in low light. Even with the f/2.8L prime lens wide open, when the light gets low it's nearly impossible to lock on to a defining edge. With my Imagenomic Noiseware Pro I don't shy away from shooting at ISO:800 because this software does wonders toward reducing noise...but the details...mmmmm #5558611Jean-Pierre Ducondi February 28, 2008
This is such a beautiful capture Dick. The image is majestic. Excellent work.Dick Jenkins February 28, 2008
Jean-Pierre thank you. I've lived in Florida for 4 years and this is the 1st year that I've been aware of this fantastic opportunity to photograph such a marvelous event, the mating ritual. I'm going to return when the chicks are ready to fledge. The Everglades are still trying to recover from past hurricanes and a terrible drought. Perhaps next year conditions will be even better.I must add...I love your work, it's outstanding Jean-Pierre. #5570224
Marthese A. Cassar March 03, 2008
Hi Dick, thx for you're comment for my porfolio, I love you're nature pictures they are so sharp! Keep it up. Love the composition of this one! #5585590Philippe Vieux-Jeanton April 09, 2008
Yes.. Pure beauty! #5766581
Reynaldo D. Reyes
May 17, 2008
Dick Jenkins May 21, 2008
Rey thanks so much for your nice comments. I just (last evening) returned from a week-long photo shoot in southern Florida. The birds and the sights were just breathtaking. I spent several days with my shooting buddy Cheryl Molenor and that was the topping on our trip. Have a look at my newest uploads from the trip.I hope to meet you one day Rey. #5956900
Derek D. Dafoe July 23, 2008
Nice work Dick!! The 2X extender worked well!! #6221565I'm sorry I've taken so long to reply but tis the season to shoot the surfers here on the Gulf of Mexico. I shoot the 2X extender when I really need to reach into an area that can't be accessed such as this cypress swamp. The Canon f/2.8 L prime lens is my prize possession and I'd surrender all other lenses before I'd part with this baby. It's heavy. It weighs 7 pounds but having the ability to shoot at f/2.8 is a real privileged. I've recently purchased a BushHawk rifle mount and it makes manhandling this lens more doable. When a bird is roosting he's completely still so don't walk away when low light exists, open that lens and mount firmly when taking your shot. #6225845
Mike F. Anderson August 13, 2008
Dick - Beautiful capture on this Egret here. Spectacular with the dark background and the great detail on his eye and beak. The definition in the separation of the tail feathers is great too. Your right, it is very hard to capture that range of pure white that these egrets have and still stay with in a workable range for all the other tonalities and highlight / shadow ranges in the image. This one is a beauty! #6310281Dick Jenkins August 15, 2008
Thank you Mike. It is also my all-time favorite and hangs in our dining room. Strangely enough this photograph never received any recognition by the BP judges.Karacan Salkuci (Kalacay) December 04, 2008
Dick! you are a great photographer. Your egret images are outstanding and great. #6850346Sign up for an interactive online photography course to get critiques on your photos.
Discussions by Category: You can view photo discussions on various themes in the Community > Photo Discussions section of the site.
BetterPhoto Websites: If you see an orange website link directly under the photographer's name, it's totally okay. It's not spam. The reason: BetterPhoto is the one that offers these personal photography websites. We are supporting our clients with those links.
Unavailable EXIF: If there is no other information but 'Unavailable' in the EXIF (meaning no EXIF data exists with the photo), the 'Unavailable' blurb is not displayed. If there is any info, it shows. Many photos have the EXIF stripped out when people modify the image and resave it, before uploading.
The following truth is one of the core philosophies of BetterPhoto:
I hear, I forget.
I see, I remember.
I do, I understand.
You learn by doing. Take your next online photography class.
Copyright for this gallery photo belongs solely to Dick Jenkins.
Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.
Log in to follow or message this photographer or report this photo.
I already have an account!