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I never regret posting Egrets (thelemmy.club)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/birding@lemmy.world
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Great Lakes region, USA. June 2026.

I've seen a ton of great egrets this year. I love watching Ardea hunt. One of the coolest genus of bird IMO.

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[–] 3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

I don't do any "real photography", so I may not have the best eye for the details, but I look at hundreds of serious hobbyist and pro photos each day, and to my eyes at least, your stuff looks as good as a lot of theirs do.

That's one of my owls from work today, so I was there to feed that one and it's 2 step siblings.

Owl 2

Owl 3

I get nervous getting down to their level, as we're enclosed together and their maneuverability becomes much better than mine down there! 😄

Especially Owl 1, that thing is a serious beast.

But that's my thing. I imagine you are much further from that egret, I'm assuming, than I was from these owls, but your photos look more "real" and "alive" that either the pics my phone got from much closer, or even more than my eyes themselves, yet the photos don't look fake or unnatural. My brain just can't grasp how that works. 🤯

Photography is crazy magic to me.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    I'm quite new to this craft myself, but IMO all photography is real photography. It is how you approach it that makes the difference. Lighting, perspective, and environment are all important considerations. Quite a bit of the look is reliant on editing too. I'm still struggling to learn proper editing, but practice makes perfect.

    You're incredibly lucky to work with owls. That sounds like an excellent time. They're the bird that constantly eludes me.

    I was probably 10' from the egret. They're surprisingly docile sometimes.

    If you ever find yourself getting interested in camera gear you can find some solid used gear for cheap. My initial birding setup was incredibly cheap considering how expensive the new stuff can get. A decent camera and a nice telephoto zoom lens can get you really close to the subject.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Oh, that is close to the egret! I don't know egrets' attitudes, but they warn us that the herons will go straight for our eyeballs, so watch getting too close to these big spikey birds! 😮 I trust the hawks fairly well, and usually the owls, but the herons I keep back from and just toss their fish to the back corner!

    After posting here everyday for 2 years about owls, I wanted to get hands on experience to keep learning, and there is thankfully a rehab 20 minutes from me. I learn so much about animals and everyone that works there is totally amazing. Today I fed squirrels, bunnies, and owls, but we've got a bit of everything right now.

    My one friend dabbles with photography, mostly stuff around town, but he tried to teach me things. It just seems like something I'd get so bogged down with and spend way too much time obsessing over details instead of enjoying myself. I already do that enough with music crap. 😄

    I should try to learn more editing though to make the photos I do take look nicer. I get some decent opportunities to grab shots with my phone, but they could use some better touching up.

    But I think you're doing wonderful. You're one of my favorite posters.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Thank you, that means a lot. That's awesome you volunteer your time. I should do that too.

    I'm not too worried about getting my eyeballs pecked out, I don't have their food, lol. They just run if I get too close. Though I did have a scary run-in with some trumpeter swans that were nesting.

    I didn't really get into photography to purposefully seek out "professional" looking photographs. I just love going for long walks and being in nature, and thought this would be a great addition to that. I don't really treat it as something I must get good at, so that keeps me grounded, but there is room to be obsessive no doubt.

    A little editing can go a long way. I'd suggest switching your phone to shoot in RAW + JPEG. It will take up a lot more storage on your phone, but you can tweek more settings in a RAW file and they apply appropriately. I typically edit on a desktop with open source Darktable, but something like Snapseed on mobile is powerful and free.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    It's a lot of fun, though sometimes gross, but one can't really get any closer to animals, unless maybe you become the next Jane Goodall or something.

    I've eyed up some used gear before. My friend uses Canon, but I tend to find my eyes drawn to some Sony (A series?) and the Olympus OM photos, but I never know how much is the camera vs the person behind the camera and Lightroom.

    I believe I've used Snapseed in the past, may have to check that out again, and Darktable comes up on here a lot so maybe I will give that a spin too.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    I'll have to poke around and see if there is a local rescue I can volunteer at.

    If you do wander into looking for gear, definitely weigh the pros and cons of each sensor type. Bigger sensors and smaller sensors offer tradeoffs.

    I'd suggest trying to take more purposeful photos with you phone camera first then look into gear. Its training your mind to recognize opportunity that matters over gear. Bird photos can be hard in the wild though. Having a decent zoom lens is really helpful.

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