Preening cattle egrets @ 1000mm

[abigailandsam]

There's a cattle pond in a pasture behind our house, and occasionally the egrets roost there. It's difficult to get close as I have to climb the fence, and they spook easily. This was more of a long distance experimental shot than anything using using the 500mm f4 with 2x tele, which I've rarely done. Conditions were probably not the best for such an experiment since the day was quite hazy and the light was pretty flat. There are bits of falling feather debris near the birds, and about 10% of the image was cropped away.

Canon EOS 20D (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/eos_20d) ,Canon EF 500mm f/4L USM (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/ef_500_4u)
1/250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm (500mm + 2x) iso400

http://i.pbase.com/o4/14/603214/1/59194416.IMG_7383sm.jpg

[kr88]

MASTERFUL!!!!!!! Noting else can be said! Well maybe awesome!!

[Phreddie]

Absolutely amazing pictures.

Hand held?:lol: :lol: :rolleyes:

[rlhphotos]

You make it sound like the pictures crappy, but its an amazing picture of some really nice birds. :)

[rathke]

I really like this. Very cool!

[abigailandsam]

Absolutely amazing pictures.

Hand held?:lol: :lol: :rolleyes:

Thanks for your kind words folks. No, it was shot from a Gitzo 1325 w/Jobu Black Widow head. It could be sharper with the 1.4x or no extender at all, but for the most part I think it's ok. I really strive for critical sharpness, but don't always achieve it! / ~Sam

[CyberDyneSystems]

Lovely.. so nice to see them with there colors :)

[Sindri Skulason]

This is a work of art. Beautiful.

[cfcRebel]

Very artistic shot of the egrets. The subjects really pop. Nice job Sam.

[GyRob]

it simple'y stunning super sharp yet the fethers show show a softness if that make's sence .
and no AF on the 20d .
Rob

[Glenn.B]

great shot, both this and Gyrob's recent post make me want to go out and try using my 500 with 2x tc

[LazyPhotographer]

This turned out superbly. I think it's an stunning shot..

[Gary Fairhead]

A beautiful photograph here. Great subject material..colors, perch, light and BG. Exceptional image.

[Maz]

A truly beautiful photo. Thanks for showing it.

Maz
http://www.homesteadsforsale.com

[Colin Morey]

That's a lovely shot, it's a shame it doesn't meet up to your own expectations, but it's far, far beyond anything i could take, thank you for sharing it.

[dancad]

Very nice mood to this shot, quite a calm image.

[ngannet]

Wow...I can't believe you are not fully satisfied with this shot! Excellent detail and amazing smoothness of the bird, and the background....wow! Very professional stuff.

[reewik]

Fantastic shot hre!