Spoonbills in the Marsh - Free Lesson

Join me as I photograph Roseate Spoonbills in the marshes of South Carolina.

[@kenvp_photo]

Thanks for opening this class up for us to see. It was well done and great to see how you went about dealing with the ever changing light and activity of other species around. It definitely looked like a great way to spend a morning too especially since you both were there together to enjoy it.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching Kevin. I've learned that many people weren't fully understanding how I was teaching in these lesson so I figured what better way to show than to share one of the lessons. As always it is amazing to share the experience with someone else who loves it!

[@RichardCookphotography]

Great video Ray. Lovely light❤

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much!

[@JurijAzmanMomirski]

I love the composition you are taking. Good job!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much!

[@newtonliu4692]

Great photos! What were you wearing when you were in the water? Some waterproof clothing?

[@RayHennessy]

Just thin quick drying pants and shirt, I basically just get in, get wet and muddy. That's what I usually do when it's warm out.

[@stevethompson8154]

I find this very helpful. It is a good idea to get in the habit of changing your strategy and get a wider variety of shots in one session when you can. It is easy to get locked in to one thought process and get 5,000 shots that all look very similar

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment Steve and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@withvinayak]

This is such a wonderful video. So much information for beginners and added tips and tricks!! Kudos

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much for the kind comment!

[@barryjarvie685]

Outstanding Ray, as always 👏🏻 Your channel is completely different from the rest, keep up the good work.

[@RayHennessy]

Thank you so much Barry, I very much appreciate the compliment! I do try to not follow the "formula" for videos that seem to be the norm so I'm glad it shows. Thanks for following along and happy shooting.

[@DilipRanjith]

Awesome video ray ... Great job

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much Dilip!

[@grega9220]

Nice.. are you squatting, on your belly, or walking on your knees with a skimmer pod? Your skill at closing the distance is outstanding..

[@RayHennessy]

In this case I believe I was crawling on my hands and knees through the shallow water to get closer and keep as low a profile as possible. Thanks!

[@smkunder1]

Wow, great video, hard to believe you can shoot at that slow shutter speed.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks Steve, that's something I teach a lot of my students, they are quite often surprised they too can get the same shots sharp at those lower shutter speeds. New cameras/lenses are a huge help in that!

[@philipculbertson55]

I couldn't tell how you were arranged. Were you on a floating platform or wearing waders and walking?

[@RayHennessy]

Phillip, in my full lessons on my website I share exactly how I shoot each outing and all the gear/clothing necessary. I didn't share all those videos here, just the shoot, which is why you didn't see that info. In any case, I was just wearing long pants and long sleeve shirt and just walked in the water. It's too shallow for a floating hide and not necessary and waders are just annoying and also not necessary, so you just get in, get wet, get muddy, and hopefully get great shots. That's how I shoot almost all marshes, I just get messy, it's part of the fun!

[@stephanandersen7643]

Why not auto iso ??

[@RayHennessy]

In this case I had the time to dial things in manually and get it right where I wanted. I’m sure Auto ISO would have worked just fine as well and I use it quite often but rarely with manual exposure settings. I always go aperture priority when I use auto ISO

[@glennalexon1530]

Looks like you're too far away from the subjects, facing the wrong way (into the sun), your lens is too short, and your lens does not have a large enough aperture for low-light conditions. Thanks for the free lesson.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for the feedback. I disagree with your assessment as I purposefully chose to shoot into the sun, something I and many photographers do very often with great success, and I also chose to shoot wider to incorporate more of the habitat into the scene. I could have easily put on my 400mm f/2.8 lens and shot with the sun at my back for frame filling images (which some close shots were included here) but those shots would have not been the creative images I was after. If what you described is your normal goal with bird and wildlife photography than my style will likely never appeal to you. Happy shooting.