Great egret landing, San Joaquin Valley, CA, USA
This image was a lucky accident. I was standing next to my car along a tour route at one the wildlife refuges in the Central Valley, looking at a large flock of sandhill cranes and Ross’s geese, when I saw this egret flying by. I quickly turned, pressed the autofocus button on the back of the camera, followed the bird, and held the shutter button down as the egret landed.
The photograph languished in my archives for awhile before I processed it. Maybe I didn’t realize its potential right away because it was such a grab shot. But I did finally process it recently, and found several things to like about it.
First, there’s the contrast. Most of the frame is dark, but the two key elements – the bird and the road – are lighter, so they stand out. Any time you can place a light subject against a dark background, and have that subject stand out cleanly and distinctly against its surroundings, you have the potential for a strong image. There’s no sunlight in this photo, so the contrast isn’t created by sun and shade, but by the juxtaposition of a white bird against dark vegetation. But it doesn’t matter how the contrast is created, as long as it’s there. (The same idea also works for dark subjects against light backgrounds. I talk more about both kinds of contrast in this post.)
Second, there’s repetition. The reverse-S curve of the egret’s neck echoes the shape of the road, which gives the image some rhythm and a sense of order and cohesion. Those of you who have followed this blog for awhile have heard me talk about repetition before, but it’s worth mentioning again because it’s so vital and fundamental. It’s hard to find a good photograph that doesn’t have some kind of repeating pattern.
Third, the misty atmosphere and snaking road create a sense of depth. This is yet another example of how it’s possible to create depth without using a wide-angle lens and an exaggerated near-far perspective (something I talk about more in my post Creating Depth: Beyond the Wide-Angle Formula).
In this case I wasn’t thinking about patterns, or contrast, or depth, as I was pressing the shutter. I just seized a fleeting opportunity and got lucky – which is often how things work with fast-moving subjects. But when photographing static subjects, the more conscious you are of things like contrast, repetition, and depth, the stronger your compositions will be.
— Michael Frye
Related Posts: Light Against Dark, Dark Against Light; Creating Depth: Beyond the Wide-Angle Formula
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Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.
That is absolutely terrific Michael, I love it.
Do I understand from you comments that you use back button focus on your camera(s)? I thought I’ve read it isn’t much of an advantage for landscape photographers. Although in this case you are a wildlife photographer…and this is proof of why you should use it?
Thanks John! Yes, I use back-button focus. Yes, there is an advantage for landscape photographers, and, I think, for any kind of photography, because back-button focus makes focus independent from shutter. For one thing, if you’ve already set the focus with the back button, the camera won’t then “hunt” and try to refocus when you press the shutter — an unnecessary and annoying delay. With most lenses, back-button focus also makes it unnecessary to flip a switch when you want to change from manual focus to autofocus, or vice-versa. When you want autofocus you just press the back button. When you want manual focus you just turn the ring on the lens, knowing that the camera won’t override your manual focus when you press the shutter.
I’ve considered setting it up that way but heard there was “getting used to it” period that made me wonder if the benefit outweighed the aggravation in my case. But I may have to give it a try anyway. You only live once. 🙂
Thanks again Michael.
Hi Michael and John,
Very interesting and all new to me this back-button focus. I’m going to look for it on my Nikon D7000 right away. I think it will be very useful to me as my 80-400 mm has the habit to be hunting and not very quickly either.
Also great foto and story with it.
Greatings from Lobith, Holland
Thank you Jeroen. I’m pretty sure your D7000 has back-button focus. It might be in the menu under “AF-On,” or something like that.
I have a D7000 and yes, it can be set to back button focus.
Very beautiful photo and i like a lot your text.
Thanks Mark!
Hmmm, I seem to recall that luck favors the prepared. And clearly you were prepared. Beautiful image Michael and I suspect that years of photography allowed you to function in “automatic create fantastic image” mode. I do need to get one of those “mode” features installed on my camera.
Congratulations on a stunning image.
Thanks Richard. There’s an app for that. 🙂
“Luck favours the prepared!” (or words to that effect). Nice shot, Michael.
Thanks Shane!
This is a really sweet shot. I often find that the thing I turn around to shoot is often better than the shot I had planned. I love the tones particular the misty background. The dark foreground is another boon for your subject
Thanks April, and I agree with you — it’s often the things you don’t plan for that turn out to be the most interesting.
Beautiful! Brilliant!
What else is there to say except thank you for sharing this wonderful shot.
Thanks Denise!
Hi Michael,
I love lucky accidents! This is wonderful, for all the reasons you give. It also demonstrates that one does not need to have a close up shot of wildlife to have a compelling image.
Thanks Vivienne – and I much prefer wildlife photos that incorporate the animal into the environment than close up portraits.
Hi, Michael –
I wanted to point out another repetition, that I enjoy in the photo: the dark hummock of grasses, just above the egret, that block part of the road. The arc of the grasses echoes the arcs of wing and head. (What I refer to as “fractal echoes.”) And it makes a good middle-ground point to carry my eye further in.
A very nice image. More what they call synchronicity, than mere luck, I’d say!
Marke
Thanks for pointing that out Marke!
I hadn’t heard of “fractal echoes”… I still don’t know exactly what that means, but I like the sound of it anyway…!
Pretty B&W!
Thanks PJ!
Michael,
A wonderful shot. It draws me in and doesn’t want to let go :-).
And, thanks as always for the informative post.
Doug
Thank you Doug!
Stunning photo Michael! Impeccable timing to capture this at the perfect moment too! I actually said wow when I opened the email. Just can’t stop staring at it!
Thanks very much Michael!
I agree that this is a lovely image with a haunting beauty. Two things occur to me. One is that until you told me it was a road I had thought it was a river (which is a bit more in the nature of nature!). The second is that in such dim light you were able to freeze the wing movement and still get reasonable dof. Perfect selection of exposure parameters!
Regarding the back focus button, pity those of us who are left eye dominant, as our heads get in the way!
Thanks Geoff. The light wasn’t that dim, luckily. I hadn’t thought about the problem with back-button focus for lefties – a serious drawback.
Did you underexpose at the moment of capture? Darken in post (I assume)…?
Jerry, I had set the exposure manually for the cranes and geese I mentioned, then turned and fired when the egret flew by, without changing any settings. In processing I increased the contrast, but didn’t lighten or darken the image overall.
Two thousand years ago Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Incredible shot by a well-prepared photographer!
Thanks Eric – you’re too kind. 🙂
Two thousand…? Two hundred you mean…? =:o)
Wonderful photograph Michael. This wildlife refuges in the Central Valley are full of surprises. All they need is a photographer to capture the magic.
mARTin
Thank you Martin!
Michael,
What’s the price for a 5×7 of your Lucky Accident?
My wife is enchanted by it.
Anthony Mournian
Thanks Anthony. The smallest prints I make are approx. 6.5 x 9.5 inches, with an 11 x 14 mat, initialed but not signed, for $35. Email me if you’re interested and I can give you more details: michael@michaelfrye.com.