This Week's Crops & Clips: White egrets and herons in morning light

Photographing birds with all- white plumage can be tricky. In full sun my photos often look flat and lack feather detail. On a shady morning, this Snowy Egret pranced by in its golden slippers only about 20 feet away and showed quite nicely.



The early sun imparted a warm glow to this preening Great Egret.



The sun had not risen, and light was reflecting off the clouds when I shot this photo of another Great Egret on an overcast morning. The photo turned out dark and grainy, but I loved the composition.



Here the very low angle of the rising sun causes shadows that accentuate the lines of a Great Egret.



On another morning at the same location the first rays worked their magic while the lake was still in shadow.



Moments later, it was bathed in golden light.

A Cattle Egret was just taking off, and the harsher late morning light accentuated its feather pattern.



This Cattle Egret was hunting lizards on our back patio and the sun was behind it in this candid shot.



A few blue feathers and the dull dark-tipped bill help distinguish this immature Little Blue Heron from the egrets. Side-lighting enhances the depth and curvature of its neck.



A lucky combination of sun and shadows were just right to illustrate the size difference between Great and Snowy Egrets. Without that help their images would have merged.