Egret in Profile

Wildlife doesn’t pose, and it doesn’t wait for you. To become a successful wildlife photographer, you need to be prepared, have some knowledge of animal behavior, be prepared and anticipate what may happen next. (These rules also apply to candid photography of people too!)

Early Monday morning, this Great White Egret was fishing in this golf course lake. I was following his movements with my camera set at 1/1000 second and 600mm lens focused, poised for the moment that the bird stretched his wings. I was happy with the backlighting of the sun.

The other axiom I say to myself often is: the more often you go out, the luckier you get. Put another way, if you stay home, you won’t get the shot, for sure!