My best egret shots so far!

I have a great camera, just not enough experience to shoot great photos yet. I had a chance to go to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine this week and I am pretty happy with a few of my shots. I don't know how to do any post processing, so these are straight out of the camera (JPEG). Sorry these are so large.

Great Egret

You did great Chris. White birds in bright light are tough. You over exposed a bit but you'll get the hang of that in no time. It's important to meter for those highlights and dial back exposure time to preserve the highlights. It's a fine line in bright sun, you don't want to underexpose too much or your shadows will flood with black and detail will be compromised in those areas. I would suggest you consider shooting RAW and learning a bit about processing RAW files to help in balancing light in your highlights and shadows. JPEG files are limiting for this purpose. Those are just some things that you can work on going forward but you're off to a great start.

Thanks, Steve, for your comments and suggestions. Next time, I will definitely shoot RAW. It was a very sunny day and I'm amazed I was able to get this much. I hate to tell you how many I shot to get a few good ones! It gives me hope because I was getting so frustrated I was ready to call it quits.

You're welcome Chris. The Alligator Farm is a great place to get some close ups but mid day light can be tough on the white birds. I preferred the late afternoon and evening for the nesting Egret there. Have you been to Gatorland recently?

No, never been to Gatorland. Do you live in Florida? For some reason, I was thinking you were from AZ. Next on my list is Anastasia Park in St. Augustine.

Great shots. The chicks are wonderful. How did you get so up close and personal on the first shot?

encphotogjoe wrote in post #14261729
Great shots. The chicks are wonderful. How did you get so up close and personal on the first shot?

Thank you. There were hundreds of birds nesting, some pretty close to the walkway at the Alligator Farm. I used my 400mm f/5.6 and got lucky with a few shots. I love those chicks, too!