Snowy Egret Portrait
| 3 imagesPurchased a Canon 5D III a short while back. Have been too busy to do anything with it other than astrophotography lately, however I did get out and get some shots of some birds and wildlife in the first few days I had it. Definitely a loss of reach compared to the 7D, but the IQ is much better. This summer has been a pretty dead time for birds this year…I get a few glimpses of some of the ultra common birds every so often, but I drive through Cherry Creek almost every day, and there just isn’t much of anything out there. Not sure why…it’s been a cooler, wetter year, which seems more ideal than the past few years which have been blistering hot and very dry. Well, maybe the bird count will pick up again in a couple months here…
This particular egret was quite a prolific fisher as well. It took about 40 minutes after me sitting down and settling down in the weeds for him to get comfortable enough to ignore me, but once he finally did, he must have caught a dozen smallish fish. By that time, the sun had started setting and eventually did set, however the big frame of the 5D III kept on plugging away, even in the low light. All of these shots are at very high ISO settings (up to ISO 12800):
Nature Photography 
Hello Jon,
I can see your point about IQ of the Full Frame. Beautiful! And beautiful birds as well. How did you manage to make the portrait of the bird with fish? Just waiting?
I am quite happy with my 70D. And followed your suggestion and obtained the Tammy 150-600 recently, the last one in stock. Wow, that lens is a different league, must learn to handle the big one properly.
Kind regards,
Jan
Hi Jan,
Congrats on getting the 150-600. It’s a very nice lens for the price bracket. I think it could very probably displace the Canon 100-400 as the dominant lens for birders on crop bodies soon enough here. I haven’t used one myself, but I know quite a number of people online on forums I visit or moderate that do, and their work has definitely improved thanks to the greater reach. The 70D is a great body, and in a lot of ways better than the 7D. The only real loss is the -1fps difference, but in the grand scheme of things, that isn’t that big of a deal. For a budget birder, the 70D+150-600 is probably the best combo.
As for the shots of the Egret with his fishes, that just takes patience. These birds are quite jittery, and don’t like to be disturbed. I would say Great Blue Herons are the most skittish, Egrets next, and the Night Herons are often a toss-up (sometimes they will sit right out in front of you and just stare at you, and others will fly off the moment they realize some other “creature” is there nearby.) The trick is being slow, unstartling (NEVER startle a bird…if you have a difficult approach, such as a rise to climb over to gain a vantage point on the birds, take it very low and very slow), and ultimately unseen. Figure out where your best vantage point of the birds is ahead of time, and make sure that your approach to it is not completely obvious, but also not hidden. If you suddenly pop into view from behind a bush, that’s guaranteed to scare waders off. You want to approach in such a manner that your not suddenly seen, but also not totally obvious. Camo helps, it will break up your shape, and as you approach from a distance, your harder to recognize. Camo yourself and your equipment. When you get closer, your chances of scaring waders off is high, and it will happen some of the time. The trick is once you get close enough to frame the birds the way you need to with your equipment, is to slowly settle down, slowly set up, and then just wait.
Even if you scare off the birds, they will usually come back in fairly short order. So long as you remain fairly still and unimposing (I usually sit or lay on the ground, even if it’s muddy), it won’t take too long for the birds to get comfortable enough with you to generally forget your there entirely, and just get down to the business of survival. It usually takes me 30-45 minutes to get close, get settled, wait for the birds to come back if they flew off, and either move into good positions for photography, or start fishing or something like that. I don’t get a lot of opportunities to photograph mating or nesting or young…Colorado, ironically, is a bit if a dead spot for birds outside of the heart of migration season (specific times during spring and fall each year).
Fantastic detail at that ISO. I have (and love) the 7D also – waiting to see what the reviews are when the new one comes out (rumored for this fall). I have been tempted by the 5D III – but would also miss the crop factor. So I wait……
Thanks, Nora. It is pretty amazing at high ISO…that big frame, it just gathers so much light.
I stuck with the 7D for a long time…too long, I think. I’ve learned the skill to get close, and I put a lot of money into huge long lenses. If you have that option (keep in mind, the Tamron 150-600 is out now, and it’s a nice low-cost option for getting that extra reach on a budget! ;)), the 5D III becomes a very viable option.
I misplaced my teleconverters…I know they are around here somewhere, and once I find them, I want to give 840mm and 1200mm a try, see how the 5D III does. Based on the noise difference, I think the 1200mm at ISO 1600 should be similar to 600mm at ISO 1600 on the 7D…that would totally negate the reach differential.
I waited for the 7D II for so long, I finally gave up waiting. I think it will be an excellent camera, though, and at some point, unless Canon comes out with the 5D IV soon after, I may pick one up as a backup/extra reach camera. I really hope the 7D II kind of reinvigorates Canon’s sensors…they really need an IQ boost in their crop sensor cameras.
Fantastic pictures, great captures!
Thank you! 🙂
The colors are perfect in this picture. Wonderful !
Aye! The color with the 5D III is exquisite! Glad you like!