ENTRY DESCRIPTION
In the Spring of 2020, after several months of photographing great egrets in Central Florida, I realized that they always take off with confidence and decisiveness and already know where they’re going to land. This photograph attempted to capture that decisive quality at the precise moment of takeoff. The bird was standing on a branch with hanging moss providing the ideal composition. I just had to wait for the perfect moment when it would spring into flight. During post-processing in Photoshop, I select the sky to make it darker, and then I painted the light using the soft-brush tool to create a more dramatic and artistic impression.

AUTHOR
Fenqiang Liu began studying drawing while attending middle school in China. During college, he took an interest in photography. After finishing his BA degree in Chinese literature, Fenqiang worked as a cameraman for geographic educational videos. He later came to the United States to obtain his MFA in Cinema and Photography at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. After graduation, Fenqiang worked as a computer animator and motion graphic designer. He and his wife later opened a business that provides behavior analysis services for children with autism. In recent years, Fenqiang has devoted his time to nature and wildlife photography and won multiple awards from international photo contests.

Fenqiang’s cultural influence from both the East and the West, his artistic background, and his photography mastery allow him to express his thoughts and emotions in a unique style.

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