Snowy Egret in flight on a clear September morning – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 800, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
It has been a while since I photographed Snowy Egrets so having them in my viewfinder yesterday morning was a real treat especially since they will be migrating soon and I will go the winter without seeing them. The Snowy Egrets I photographed in Florida were year round residents but the ones that breed are here in Utah are not.
The two Snowy Egret photos I am sharing today show both birds in flight with one of them flying towards the west and one flying towards the east not long after the sun came over the tops of the mountains. In both photos the heads of the egrets are well lit with their wings fully extended in flight.
In this first photo the Snowy Egret was flying towards the west and the shadow of the wings fell on the lower portion of the egret’s belly, I decreased my exposure by one full stop to reduce the chance of blown out whites on the dorsal side of the wings which worked out quite well.
Snowy Egret in flight on a late September morning – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
In this second Snowy Egret photo the egret was flying towards the east and at the time I didn’t feel that I needed to decrease my exposure at all and it too worked out quite nicely. In this photo the shadows fell on the egret’s legs and feet with some shadows on the dorsal side of the egret’s wings.
The darkness in the background of both images added a nice contrast and a touch of drama too.
I’m happy that I was able to spend time photographing these Snowy Egrets yesterday morning before they head south for the winter.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Snowy Egret photos plus facts and information about this species.
We have year-round snowy egrets, but some migrate in, too, and just last weekend I found a group of about twenty in a local refuge. Some are developing their breeding plumage already, and I was so pleased to have one sunshine-filled day in which to photograph them.
I like the high contrast. Interesting information, especially about breeding with other species.
These beautiful pics are almost surreal in their presentation. The contrasts you captured are amazing! Thanks Mia.
What amazing photos of a glorious bird.
Nice!
Such beautiful birds. We have a lot of Great Egrets here but a Snowy Egret is rare.