Location: McDonald Road, Roberts Island, California
Created: 08/07/2014 11:28:57 am
Camera: EOS Canon 5d iii
Lens: EF 70-200mm 2.8L IS ii USM @ 190 mm
Aperture: f/11; 1/5000 sec.; ISO 1000
This image was a surreal instant, owed to the hundreds of times the evasive Egret challenged me to get their incredible grace and beauty for a photograph. The 'Great Egret' (Ardea alba) is a dazzling sight. Slightly smaller and more svelte than its cousin, the Great Blue Heron, these are still large birds with impressive wingspans.
They hunt in classic stealth heron fashion, standing immobile and wading through wetlands to capture fish with a deadly jab of their yellow bill. Their plumes were highly prized as ornaments in the Ottoman period since the 12th century and elsewhere through the 19th century. However, Great Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes, known as "aigrettes," to decorate hats in the late nineteenth century, sparking conservation movements and some of the first laws to protect birds. In 1953, the great Egret in flight was chosen as the symbol of the Nation Audubon Society.
An observation: a scene you revisit and experience over and over is rarely the same twice. It's important to stay flexible in your expectations because, more often than not, the plan won't be obvious. The plan is never the plan. Live in the moment. Only then does the door open for an instant, and we get a glimpse of the special stuff that only appears when unasked for.
