Backlit Egret

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Backlit Egret

October 20, 2019 by Mike Powell

I love the effects of the light in this image of a Great Egret (Ardea alba) that I captured on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. (For the sake of clarity, I should note that I captured the image and not the egret.) When I first spotted the egret, its wings were down and it was more or less just a silhouette. As I was focusing on it, though, the egret hopped into the air and flapped its wings and I snapped the shot. I was looking almost directly into the sun and I was fascinated by the way the light illuminated the outstretched wings and was happy that I was able to capture, at least in part, that effect.

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Ardea alba, Canon 50D, egret, Great Egret, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 15 Comments

15 Responses

on October 20, 2019 at 9:26 am | Reply Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography

And this is true wildlife photography. It’s all about the scene, 👏👏👏👏
- on October 20, 2019 at 3:48 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I know that you, Ted, are a big fan of capturing the environment as well as capturing close-ups. One of the advantages of a zoom lens is that it sometimes allows up to capture both from the same spot.
  - on October 20, 2019 at 7:11 pm Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography
    
    I was with a photographer earlier today who uses a 400 prime exclusively out in the swamps. He gets great shots but I can’t believe how many opportunities he must miss.
on October 20, 2019 at 9:51 am | Reply Ellen Jennings

Wow, fabulous capture of the “hop,” Mike! I love the lighting and the Egret’s pose.
- on October 20, 2019 at 3:56 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks Ellen. I really didn’t anticipate the egret jumping to move to another spot, but I was fortunate to have my finger on the shutter button when it did so. I took a burst of shots and fortunately this one captured a sense of what I had observed.
  - on October 21, 2019 at 6:34 pm Ellen Jennings
    
    😃 And that’s how a lot of nature action captures happen!
on October 20, 2019 at 10:15 am | Reply Eliza Waters

I love the atmosphere in this shot, Mike. A perfect moment in time.
- on October 20, 2019 at 3:54 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Eliza. I shot a little burst of shots and this was the only one in which the light on the egret and the position of the wings produced this effect. A lot of the time I am trying to capture the details of the subject, but as you noted, this image was about trying to capture a sense of the moment, what you so aptly called the “atmosphere.”
on October 20, 2019 at 11:23 am | Reply mvschulze

Great picture, Mike!!! M:-)
- on October 20, 2019 at 3:57 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. This image is a little more “artsy” than most of my shots. Sometimes it’s nice to try to capture a feeling rather than zoom in on a single subject.
on October 20, 2019 at 3:29 pm | Reply Ms. Liz

“All things bright and beautiful..” This is marvellous!
- on October 20, 2019 at 5:41 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Liz. This is one of those photos that I like because of the feeling and the mood that it evokes. It would to be hard to explain with words.
on October 20, 2019 at 3:47 pm | Reply sv-anui.com

Great light and feel in this shot, Mike!
- on October 20, 2019 at 6:13 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Chris. I know that the general rule is to have the light to my back when shooting, but I love backlighting and the effects that it can produce with rim lighting when the subject is opaque or translucency when the light can shine through parts of the subject like wings.
on October 20, 2019 at 4:39 pm | Reply Michael Scandling

Beautiful back light.