GREAT EGRETS DOING ACROBATICS 003

Trying to get egrets in more unusual and ackward poses.

All C&C and ratings are welcome. As a hobbyist trying to improve, I

appreciate any ideas on how this shot would be better. Will try to return

the favor. Thanks

Hey Dave,

Well, I really like that you are trying to get something different here, but it didn't quite make it. The water is perfect. Too often I see people try to get shots but don't pay attention to the light off the water, but that you were ready for. A 7D eh! Nice body. What lens? The focus/detail isn't there. Were you using image stabilization? Was this image cropped heavily?

The composition is a little off too. He is flying away right? So, why not show more of the mess he made of the water at the bottom where he's been, than all the extra unneeded space at the top. The shot you're trying to convey is him leaving so without that foreground it's just a egrets back. The shutter speed obviously wasn't there either, the movement is all blurred. Not trying to be a critical jerk, just want to help. Too many people on here just want to submit good photos to get praise. I started years ago and know what it's like to want to succeed and get no help. Feel free to ask any questions, or bust my chops anytime! LOL!

Ken, thank you so much for your feedback. It is exactly what I am looking for - real help.

The problem I was trying to get a handle on was a very bright flying bird and dark water. I tried shooting just after sunrise. I was using a 300 zoom with a 1.4 converter. I still had to crop alot. The focal length was 238, speed 1/640, and fstop f7. Any suggestions on better settings and time of day?

The composition is off as I am very new at shooting moving objects and in this case lead to much. I had to follow him from the shore and caught him making a 90 degree turn - the moment he hit the water. I had hoped cropping would fix that - it did not.

I will try again but am not sure where to go with settings.

Thanks for your thoughts. Dave

Hi Dave,

Shoot the lens without the converter at wide open aperture.

The crop and enlargement will come out much better.

You gain better base lens performance and a faster shutter speed, too.

Best Regards,  Mike

Yup. Mike's right. As we messaged back and forth about your lens, it is reasonably sharp at 300mm uncropped or very minor cropping. Adding a teleconverter takes away from just about any lens's sharpness, so on a marginal lens it destroys it. Your other egret shot profiled in flight is much sharper without it. Without an L series lens, I wouldn't use it. I have found that using center spot metering and aperature priority works well and saves alot of missed exposures (if you can hold your subject). Your autofocus is insane, so you're covered.