Spring always brings one question to my mind. “Who thought way back when, this was the way to attract a mate?” When you watch the Great Egret perform their ritual, one surely must ask. Part of their ritual is what is called sky pointing. This is when the male Great Egret at the nest starts crouched down, bill down in the nest platform and then they rises quickly, completely stretches their bodies with their bills pointing into the sky. Briefly, they are as straight as a post. If you’re a female Great Egret or a wildlife photographer, this is pretty darn exciting! And catching the sky pointing in action takes skill for both the female and the photographer.
There are a couple of factors to take into consideration. The first and most important to me is the background. I feel the longer the lens, the better you can select and control the background you like best. I was shooting with the 800mm and in both of these images, I moved so I have a nearly all dark background in one or one with some light. Both have drama and both have a totally different feel. Next is catching the action within the frame with some elegance. I shot with the D4s because of its fast FPS cause I wanted personally to capture the sensual curve of the neck/body with the tip of the bill in the frame. Now this pose is not the “sky pointing” because it’s not quite the entire pose. But the sensual curve of the neck it gone in sky pointing when completed. So getting this shot requires gear, biology, light and patience. Or, the basic ingredients to every successful wildlife photograph.