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The trouble with Egrets

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gz927

gz927

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I have always had a problem shooting these birds because of the white blowout.
No matter what I did there was always a white portion that was blown out.
Being lazy as usual I always shot in JPEG until today.

Today when I spotted one I decided to give raw a try on the Egret with a one stop
underexposure. I have shot raw for landscapes but never for Egrets.
I used the raw processor that comes with Photoshop Elements 7.
What settings do you guys(&gals) use?
The results are below.





--
Why's the rich man dancing while the poor man pays the band?
http://www.pbase.com/gzonis/galleries

 
I find nothing wrong with a little blow out. If you have ever squinted, it's because the scene you were viewing in real life was blown out.. it's a natural occurrence and find it perfectly OK in a photograph
--
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
http://evil-twin.smugmug.com/
 
I couldn't find one shot where I didn't have some clipping in the Whites on an Egret or Great White Heron when the bird was in full sun. My heart sank at this discovery. The again, maybe that is indigestion.

Using multi-segment metering like you did usually works better if the White subject fills up more of the frame.

I think I saw the bird in the first shot move while I was looking at it.

I could tell you what I do, but I'm probably on your ignore list.
 
I don't have an ignore user list either. Wouldn't want to miss out all all the fun.

I don't see anything wrong with your two exposures. They're swell.

Even on a rainy day, I get clipped highlights.


gz927 said:
What ignore list?
--
Why's the rich man dancing while the poor man pays the band?
http://www.pbase.com/gzonis/galleries

Click to expand...
 
Getting close to wildlife is the tough piece of the puzzle, but only if one likes that kind of shot. Some do, some don't. I was lucky that day, since I like tighter framing on birds. I've got my share of 400mm wide angle bird shots as well.

The Tamron is a very nice lens.
gz927 said:
Thanks-I can never get that close.
My two were with the tamron 200-500 on the 7D
--
Why's the rich man dancing while the poor man pays the band?
http://www.pbase.com/gzonis/galleries

Click to expand...
 
Folks will frequently point out blown out areas of white in a variety of subjects (e.g., flowers, egrets, clouds, waterfalls, etc.). It so happens that if you look at many of these subjects, particularly on a bright sunny day, they will be "blown out" to the naked eye. Ansel Adams has written about this phenomenon and he and many others have no problem with SOME blown out areas so long as they are not a major part of the image or subject. Of course, with a white bird that is the main subject of your image, you want to minimize or eliminate the blown out areas. I am NOT a wildlife shooter but I have dealt with this problem with both white flowers and egrets. My attempt at a solution is to shoot on an overcast day or at least not mid-day (or shoot the subject in the shade) and under-expose one to two stops. In the case of a white flower I spot meter and shoot about a 1/2 stop underexposed. With flying birds spot metering can be difficult, or at least it is for me. Wind movement of flowers or if the wildlife is on the wing or otherwise moving then you probably have to bump up the ISO in order to get an acceptably fast shutter speed to freeze the action if that's your desire.

http://rogerrex.zenfolio.com/
 
White birds can be a bear to get near to right. Here's a few things I do according to the circumstances.

For one I'll try to hand meter if I can meter the same light level that the bird is in. That usually works quite well.

Then careful processing needs to take place. If you haven't clipped the highlights then I find the shadow/highlight tool of photoshop helpful when combined with careful levels adjustments.

With the shadow/highlight you can pull those bright spots down a bit to bring out the subtle feather detail.

Of course I'm shooting in RAW so this may now work well for jpg shooters.

So, remember that all camera's meter for 18% average grey and that when dealing with a white bird, or any white subject, you have to compensate.
--
Long live the HMS Beagle
Critiques always welcome!
 
They look pretty good to me, especially the second photo. Nice shooting. I always try to under expose Egrets, Great Whites and Ibis. It helps with the details. Milt
 
--YEP! We all get some images that are blown out. Maybe just part of, or even All. We either learn to accept it, or we try to get it better. It's Fun trying.

I quite like your images anyway. Do a little crop to them and keep takeing them in RAW. That way you got a Better chance to get some detail back.

Oh Yea! When in Multimeter you can Focus the shot then press your AEL button (on a700) it gives you a spot metering. Then recompose. Don't forget to press the AEL button again at next focusing to release it. Discovered that the other week. LOL

MrScary (DennisR)
Swansea, Wales. UK

http://copernob.jalbum.net/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarecrowdr
http://www.russ4to.photoshare.co.nz
 
Nah, the real trouble with Egrets is when you park you car under a tree where they roost. Then you wake up the next day to a scene that looks like someone dumped a gallon of white paint on top of your car.

Yes, really.
--
Always looking for good images to display as a POTD!
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Hmmm, seems like if you spot meter a white subject and don't dial in compensation the camera should expose it as grey.
--
Long live the HMS Beagle
Critiques always welcome!
 
Stan_P said:
Absolutelly right. I set exposure compensation to +1 or +1.5 while metering from white.
--
http://www.stan-pustylnik.smugmug.com
Click to expand...
Cool, just wanted to eliminate that possibly confusing detail. Good to point out the CPL also. I use one a lot in shooting wildlife and it really does bring out detail and richen up colors if used right. Same for helping to eliminate some of the "hot spots". I should have thought to mention it earlier.

--
Long live the HMS Beagle
Critiques always welcome!
 
I close my eyes blindly and shoot away.. Ive shot thousands of these birds and luckily I have a few that are ok... its all luck for me....one of these days I'm going to take a course..
--
Bill
Capturing memories, one at a time.

Visit my Smug Mug Galleries at:
http://evil-twin.smugmug.com/
 
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