{"id":106501,"date":"2022-09-24T03:28:23","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T09:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=106501"},"modified":"2022-09-24T03:28:23","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T09:28:23","slug":"snowy-egret-in-a-natural-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/09\/24\/snowy-egret-in-a-natural-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Snowy Egret In A Natural Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SnowySnowy Egret stepping into the light \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When this Snowy Egret emerged from the shadows and into the sunlight yesterday morning, I briefly forgot to breathe. The egret appeared to be glowing. Dreamlike was the word that came to my mind when I looked at this white wading bird in contrast with the darker marsh setting.<\/p>\n

Light is always a big part of photography. It can be subtle or dramatic, as is shown in this photo. Over the years, I have learned to work with all kinds of light conditions in the field and to enjoy the challenges light can present.<\/p>\n

The natural spotlight effect in this Snowy Egret<\/span><\/a> photo is what makes it seem dreamlike to me. This image wouldn’t have conveyed the same feeling without that beam of light.<\/p>\n

The other pictures I took at Farmington Bay yesterday morning didn’t have the same visual appeal for me as this one did.<\/p>\n

I was able to take advantage of this natural spotlight since I got to my destination before the sun rose over the Wasatch Mountains. Fortunately for me, the egret arrived at the ideal moment to move from the darkness and into the light.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Snowy Egret photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When this Snowy Egret emerged from the shadows and into the sunlight yesterday morning, I briefly forgot to breathe. The egret appeared to be glowing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":106498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,697,255,26],"tags":[970,10538,13320,743,351,4120,13319,4620,4204,4094,4677,3988,9852,13318,313,4236,3996,4095],"class_list":["post-106501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-snowy-egrets","category-utah","tag-autumn","tag-beam","tag-dreamlike","tag-egret","tag-egrets","tag-egretta-thula","tag-emerged","tag-fall","tag-light","tag-marsh","tag-shadows","tag-snowy-egret","tag-spotlight","tag-stepping","tag-wading-birds","tag-walking","tag-water","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/snowy-egret-in-spotlight-mia-mcpherson-6585.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-rHL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":116268,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/26\/snowy-egret-in-marsh-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":106501,"position":0},"title":"Snowy Egret In Marsh Morning Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the first birds I photographed this autumn was this fluffed-up Snowy Egret glowing in a natural spotlight in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret in morning light at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/snowy-egret-marsh-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-1077-Copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/snowy-egret-marsh-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-1077-Copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I'm sharing three Snowy Egret photos\u2014two because I like them, and the last one because it makes me laugh out loud.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret looking snazzy, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3618.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3618.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3618.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The stark contrast of the white plumage of the Snowy Egret against the darkness of shadows on the vegetation and water made the egret appear to glow.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret in a ray of morning light, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-beam-of-light-mia-mcpherson-7391.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-beam-of-light-mia-mcpherson-7391.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-beam-of-light-mia-mcpherson-7391.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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