Day 105—Great White

Late this afternoon, I took Mady for a walk at the Stock Ranch Nature Preserve behind Costco. I needed to get gas and pick up coffee and wine, two of the three primary food groups—caffein and fruit—so I thought a trip there would be a fun outing for my Golden Retriever house guest. Mady enjoyed herself and I was thrilled to see a Great White Egret fishing in a pond in the preserve. I was amazed that Mady cooperated by sitting still and not tugging on her leash as I shot, trying to keep in mind the composition lessons from my on-line photography class as well as from the on-site lighting class I took earlier in the day.

I had set my camera with Sunny 16 settings, but because it was late afternoon, the sun was low and I was shooting directly into the sun so the egret was backlit. As usual, I got too excited about what I was photographing to realize that the exposure needed help. But, I thought the glint in the bird’s eye as well as the reflection in the pond, made for a dramatic shot. (N.B. After I posted this photo, I got to looking at it and decided that it was too dark and so I increased the exposure by +1 and made a levels adjustment. I liked the reworked shot much better so I removed the one I originally posted.)

I captured the second shot of the egret landing after flying out of the pond, while I was twiddling the lens so it was only zoomed to 92mm. I had to crop it for better effect.

Focal Length 230mm
ISO 200
f/16
1/200
Exposure +1, Levels

Focal Length 92mm
ISO 200
f/16
1/200
Cropped