A99 w/70-400mm G, BIF (Egrets Feeding, Losts Of Activity In The Pond)

I got up early this morning and drove over to a local pond in the rain (near Monroe, Michigan). I wanted to catch some shots of the Egrets feeding. I arrived and found all kinds of early morning activity. It was raining (off and on) and overcast lighting (required raising my ISO).

All shots handheld, RAW and post processed in PS CS6:

















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A99, A900, A55, A700, R1, w/Zeiss + Sony G Glass, Samsung Galaxy Note III, PS CS6
My Picasa Albums: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109849611643818398019/albums My YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TheWillybug

Beautiful birds. Nice group of shots. I noticed some fringing when viewing at 100%. Also not much feather detail viewing that large. What kind of post processing did you use?

Thanks for viewing and constructive comments.

Regarding low image quality, the birds were at a long distance and required heavy cropping. Also the conditions were dimly lite with heavy overcast (some rain) so the images as captured were flat and lacking of contrast.

In post I cropped heavily, brightened a lot, added contrast and clarity and used noise reduction. Yeah, all the post actions took a heavy toll on the image file.

In reality I think I will stop posting images with this much post work but it was the scenery and birding activity I wanted to show even though it was a stretch for the conditions and focal length. I should have post and image showing the overall scene (there were probably 200 to 300 Egrets and GBH). When several would take to flight together it would make me laugh (just amazing). Too bad it was raining (I was wearing a poncho and had my camera / lens totally covered / wrapped in plastic).

wjansen said:

Beautiful birds. Nice group of shots. I noticed some fringing when viewing at 100%. Also not much feather detail viewing that large. What kind of post processing did you use?

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A99, A900, A55, A700, R1, w/Zeiss + Sony G Glass, Samsung Galaxy Note III, PS CS6
My Picasa Albums: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109849611643818398019/albums My YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TheWillybug

These are excellent as usual but even more so with the crappy weather we had yesterday. Good going Bill.

CC

Thanks George.

Even though it was raining I totally enjoyed the morning.

When I got to where I usually photograph the birds on the pond I was amazed because most of the water was drained out (the wind was blowing from the west to the east and the pond was emptied into Lake Erie (the birds were 1/4 mile out in the pond where water was left). Absolutely no photographic opportunity for BIF.

Oh well, it was windy, overcast / raining but warm so I decided to take a four mile walk around the pond to see if I could find something interesting to photograph (with my camera carried under my poncho). About half way around the pond I came up on a smaller pond where the birds had gathered and were feeding. I photo'd the action for an hour and then finished my walk in the rain. I will go back to that place with good lighting and no rain. Hopefully I will be able to catch some action in good resolving light and some contrast.

Canadian Club said:

These are excellent as usual but even more so with the crappy weather we had yesterday. Good going Bill.

CC

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Love the reflection of the two Egrets in #7, second from the last one. You are lucky to have so many of them in one location. No such luck in my area, so keep shooting and sharing! Thank you!

William Curtindale said:

In reality I think I will stop posting images with this much post work but it was the scenery and birding activity I wanted to show even though it was a stretch for the conditions and focal length. I should have post and image showing the overall scene (there were probably 200 to 300 Egrets and GBH). When several would take to flight together it would make me laugh (just amazing). Too bad it was raining (I was wearing a poncho and had my camera / lens totally covered / wrapped in plastic).

Click to expand...

If PP is what it takes to get the shots there is nothing wrong with it and no reason not to show them. And peeping at 100% by others should be ignored, they have not yet learned it's the composition and story the photo conveys that's what counts.

Nice photos, nothing wrong with it being raining and being out photographing. Just a new use of light and equipment protection to get good at. And it helps not being a couch potato

Walt, I really appreciate your comments, Thanks.

This Saturday Rick Church (AarSee) and I are going to try it again at the same location. Hopefully with better weather and lighting I can pull back on post work and have a lot higher quality images.

Probably the most difficult thing about these images was the overcast sky, low light and flatness of everything (including weird color cast). I knew my images were going to be marginal while I was shooting but I wasn't going to let that ruin my day.

Actually because of my post work to brighten things up I don't think it was apparent how wet everything was. The below image of the GBH may show how wet the bird was (everything was dark and soaked - my camera and lens stayed dry).

Again, Thanks

WaltKnapp said:

William Curtindale said:

In reality I think I will stop posting images with this much post work but it was the scenery and birding activity I wanted to show even though it was a stretch for the conditions and focal length. I should have post and image showing the overall scene (there were probably 200 to 300 Egrets and GBH). When several would take to flight together it would make me laugh (just amazing). Too bad it was raining (I was wearing a poncho and had my camera / lens totally covered / wrapped in plastic).

Click to expand...

If PP is what it takes to get the shots there is nothing wrong with it and no reason not to show them. And peeping at 100% by others should be ignored, they have not yet learned it's the composition and story the photo conveys that's what counts.

Nice photos, nothing wrong with it being raining and being out photographing. Just a new use of light and equipment protection to get good at. And it helps not being a couch potato

--
I'm Only Responsible For What I Say, Not For What You Understand.
-Walt-

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--
A99, A900, A55, A700, R1, w/Zeiss + Sony G Glass, Samsung Galaxy Note III, PS CS6
My Picasa Albums: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109849611643818398019/albums My YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TheWillybug

Sorry I offended you about my 'pixel' peeping! The OP seemed to appreciate my comments as constructive. I do a lot of PP myself and have had comments that some of my shots having too much processing. When using Photoshop or Lightroom, they suggest making adjustments at 100% so you can better see the effects. If you read what I posted, you can see I complimented the OP on his pics as well.

William Curtindale said:

Walt, I really appreciate your comments, Thanks.

This Saturday Rick Church (AarSee) and I are going to try it again at the same location. Hopefully with better weather and lighting I can pull back on post work and have a lot higher quality images.

Probably the most difficult thing about these images was the overcast sky, low light and flatness of everything (including weird color cast). I knew my images were going to be marginal while I was shooting but I wasn't going to let that ruin my day.

Actually because of my post work to brighten things up I don't think it was apparent how wet everything was. The below image of the GBH may show how wet the bird was (everything was dark and soaked - my camera and lens stayed dry).

Click to expand...

My point is more about what photography is about. I do not consider it to be about locking in a specific technical look in every shot we make. It's about the photo and the story it tells, just what you found out there To me it's the quality of the story that matters and that won't come from any PP you can do. The day is what it is, not something we have to change, record it as it is. But get the story....rain or shine, or time of day etc.

wjansen said:

Sorry I offended you about my 'pixel' peeping! The OP seemed to appreciate my comments as constructive. I do a lot of PP myself and have had comments that some of my shots having too much processing. When using Photoshop or Lightroom, they suggest making adjustments at 100% so you can better see the effects. If you read what I posted, you can see I complimented the OP on his pics as well.

Click to expand...

The point is that the effects that matter don't show looking at individual pixels. There is no story, no composition etc. there. It's back at the viewing size of the full photo, where you look at the actual photo, which is a aggregate of all the pixels viewed simultaneously.

When we used film we did not judge the photos by examining each grain in the film emulsion. We did not even judge the film itself that way. Viewing pixels at 100% is doing the same thing.

It's not a matter of being offended, it's a matter of what is photography that I'm pointing at. Part of a discussion of just what photography is about.

Willy81 said:

William Curtindale wrote:

... there were probably 200 to 300 Egrets and GBH). When several would take to flight together it would make me laugh (just amazing).

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In case you have a shot of all these birds, I would like to see that, William!

Ralf, unfortunately I don't have any shots with 200 Egrets confined in one image (the birds are spread over a large area). I have a few shots that cover a little more area than just my 400mm (I was using my 70-400mm and mainly shooting at 400mm). I hope these images give the feel of the location and number of birds from these images.

The area is large and the birds are all around full area. When on location (and in the excitement) it's hard to concentrate on what to shoot because of all the activity (some feeding, some fussing with each other, some in flight or flapping wings). For me, at first I was trying to catch all I could because I thought it would end but no they just took off, circled and came back over and over. This is a fun area and I have invited four people to join me on Saturday (rain or shine - prefer shine).

Below shots show a little wider area (this Saturday I will try to cover a greater area, maybe with 16-35mm CZ):







If you like lots of birds in one image here I got twenty Eagles in one tree and two in flight. A friend of mine got over a thousand in a panorama. I will be going back to this place a couple times this winter (6 1/2 hours from home).

Ralf B said:

Ralf B said:

William Curtindale wrote:
... there were probably 200 to 300 Egrets and GBH). When several would take to flight together it would make me laugh (just amazing).

Click to expand...

In case you have a shot of all these birds, I would like to see that, William!

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Cheers,
Ralf
www.ralfralph.smugmug.com

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--
A99, A900, A55, A700, R1, w/Zeiss + Sony G Glass, Samsung Galaxy Note III, PS CS6
My Picasa Albums: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109849611643818398019/albums My YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TheWillybug

Love the pictures Bill! Egrets are fun birds -- and I actually made it out last weekend and found cattle egret! Now those are some cool looking birds. In addition to the cattle egret, here are two shots of a great egret I got at a relatively local marsh.









And here's the cattle egrets -- fortunately some of them still had their breeding plumage:





And finally…we had fun with the sandhills as well. This is them trying to run away from the crazy ladies:







Elizabeth

Elizabeth, now those make a beautiful series (by the way you can send the sun shine my way).

My favorite is the birds lined up on the fence (seems unusual to me).

It appears in your photos that the birds were not shy or spooked.

Yeah, looks like you had a fun shoot, thanks for sharing.

eawhitcomb said:

Love the pictures Bill! Egrets are fun birds -- and I actually made it out last weekend and found cattle egret! Now those are some cool looking birds. In addition to the cattle egret, here are two shots of a great egret I got at a relatively local marsh.

And here's the cattle egrets -- fortunately some of them still had their breeding plumage:

And finally…we had fun with the sandhills as well. This is them trying to run away from the crazy ladies:

Elizabeth

Click to expand...

--
A99, A900, A55, A700, R1, w/Zeiss + Sony G Glass, Samsung Galaxy Note III, PS CS6
My Picasa Albums: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109849611643818398019/albums My YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TheWillybug

Thanks Bill! I loved the cattle egrets. They literally hang out with the cows, eating insects off them. And when they're not eating insects they sit either on the cows or on fences and groom themselves.

You must be in northern MI since you're not getting my sunshine, we've had pretty much lately. We did have rain this morning but it's sunny now. And we're actually supposed to have a really nice, cool weekend. Finally. I'm ready to be done with this hot, humid weather! I'll try to send my cool, sunny weather your way!

Elizabeth