Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Pic of the Day

Snowy Egret, Egretta hula:  Saint Augustine Alligator Farm;
Saint Augustine, Florida
    I found this handsome fellow the first morning I arrived at the heron rookery in Saint Augustine, Florida.  When I first saw this snowy he was displaying on a lower branch.  I shot dozens and dozens of images, but the he was partially hidden and the full display of its’ beautiful aigrette feathers were veiled.

     Soon after my first round of images, the sun fully lite the egret while leaving the background in shadows.  As the egret continued its display the aigrette feathers glowed against the dark background, but the bird was still on the lower branch.  As I shot a few more frames I kept saying……”move up to the next branch, move up to the next branch,” and all of a sudden the snowy stepped up onto the arching branch and continued to display.  
     Now, fully in the open, I could get the image I was looking for, with the fine feather filaments standing out against the background.   Over the next three days I photographed this egret displaying against various tonal backgrounds, but it is this one with that shows the true beauty of this magnificent behavior.

Nikon D-800, Nikon 500mm f/4, 1/2000 second @ f/8

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