White subjects: they may be the bane of most photographers. The most valuable tool for white subject will be the meter in your camera. But, with white subjects the camera is calibrated to render all tones to a mid-tone of 18% gray. If the meter is the sole source for exposure then the whites will be rentered in shades of gray. In this case the bird was meterd in "Pattern" metering (evaluative with emphasis on the center region of the reticle in the view finder). The camera is then manualy compensated by dialing in a +.66 exposure. The object is to try and retain whites while not under exposing the image.