Flying egret

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Flying egret

August 16, 2013 by Mike Powell

I am in awe of photographers who can capture amazing shots of birds in flight and I continue my quest to improve my own skills. So many things have to come together to get such shots including the timing, location, lighting, and focusing.

Here is one of my most recent efforts, a shot of a Great Egret (Ardea alba) in flight. The focus is a little soft, but I really like the position of the egret that I managed to capture, with a beautiful sweep of the wings.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea alba, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, egret, Great Egret, Huntley Meadows Park | 13 Comments

13 Responses

on August 16, 2013 at 8:27 am | Reply babsje

Mike, this is a beautiful shot, the softness is fine, and you’re right about the sweep of the wings. Nicely done!
- on August 16, 2013 at 8:30 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. It’s so easy to get caught up in the idea that everything must be perfectly focused. That is simply not possible all of the time (actually most of the time). I like the overall look of the image–that’s a good enough reason to post it.
  - on August 16, 2013 at 8:39 am babsje
    
    Exactly. Plus, I don’t know if you’ve ever checked out my great blue heron blog, but all of ,y shots are soft. The reasons that they are all, with only two exceptions, taken from the cockpit of a kayak. So in addition to the incredible speed of the flying bird that posses challenges in focusing, I face the further challenge of shooting from a boat that is moving sideways and up and down in the water. High degree of difficulty, in other words. Your work is always very good and appreciated!
on August 16, 2013 at 8:28 am | Reply Victor Rakmil

Wow!
on August 16, 2013 at 8:34 am | Reply Mona

Great photography………
on August 16, 2013 at 9:45 am | Reply acuriousgal

Excellent shot, Mike!! What a beautiful bird in flight!
on August 16, 2013 at 12:50 pm | Reply lylekrahn

I think you need to be careful with getting shots like this or you will become in awe of the photographer who took your shots:)
- on August 16, 2013 at 6:58 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Now if I could just do the same with a hawk…..
on August 16, 2013 at 8:00 pm | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I think this is a fantastic shot. It isn’t easy to do!
on August 17, 2013 at 10:28 am | Reply noble25

Very nice. I borrowed a Canon 55-250 once and it was very very slow to focus. Good thing you got it to focus on the bird.
- on August 17, 2013 at 12:10 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  The lens is a bit slow to focus, but in this case I was fortunate to be pretty close to the egret, so I was able to lock in the focus.
on August 20, 2013 at 6:52 pm | Reply We Now Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Great Blue Heron Programming – Weekly Photo Challenge: Carefree | Babsje Heron

[…] and herons and more with exceptional clarity, as does Victor at Rakmil Photography. Plus, Mike of Mike Powell Photography recently posted a very lovely flying […]
on September 25, 2013 at 6:31 am | Reply Sea eagle, osprey, egrets and fungi | Dear Kitty. Some blog

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