Cranes ready to take-off

Gallery: AvianPosted January 5, 2011159 views8 comments

Another image of the fabulous sandhill cranes at Bosque. The ponds were a bit frozen this morning so it was interesting to watch them run to take off and this image captures the start.
C&C welcome.

Nikon D700
Nikor 200-400 f/4 VR @ 400mm
1/2500
f/10
iso 2000

RAW processed in LR3 and CS5

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on January 5, 2011 at 9:36 PM

Nice image, Stephen. I like the busyness of the image and it's very clear that the nearest crane is the star. Good eye contact with him and I like the lifted foot.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on January 6, 2011 at 10:49 AM

Well done, Stephen.

You were either able to get close or you've cropped this a lot.

I like the texture of the ice.

Would make a suggestion for the print you are selling... Eliminate by cloning or content-fill the left-most crane. I think the eye goes there and it's tough to bring the eyes back to the subject birds.

Nice capture.

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Weaver on January 6, 2011 at 2:08 PM

Thanks Al, temps were reasonable so they were not really frozen in this morning. Just enough ice to make it interesting! In past visits I have seen them really frozen in!

Carol: minimal cropping, they were less than 100 feet away. About your suggestion to remove the left most crane: my personal photography ethics do not permit that!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 226 Posts, 623 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 6, 2011 at 4:21 PM

I like the combination of poses in this one, Steve. For my taste, you picked the perfect dof. My only nit might be that I think it would have been nice if the two cranes in the foreground were a little further to the right in the frame (more room on the left to fly into). The incipient action is great.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on January 6, 2011 at 9:42 PM

Cool shot Steve! Definitely shows the story of them about to take off.

I totally agree with the suggestion to try and eliminate the left crane, if you can. The "partial" birds on the right edge don't bother me, as they're headed into the frame, following the perceived next step (the birds taking off). All we see for the bird on the left edge is his back half. If you can somehow get rid of him (admittedly more PS work than I'd feel comfortable trying!!), it would make a nice shot much stronger, and really add to that impression of impending movement of the group towards the left of the frame.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on January 7, 2011 at 5:00 AM

Love it!! The blue around the birds is very effective. Great light in the scene. How exciting to be there to see this.

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on January 7, 2011 at 9:27 AM

I like how the action of this moment was captured Stephen. Perfect choice for DOF for my taste on this behavior shot and terrific detail and colors!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by richard remington on January 7, 2011 at 3:06 PM

Steve,

Perfect timing as the shot projects a feel of action. I can see this scene a split econd later with a gaggle of wings and honking noisy cranes. I also appreciate the front cranes lifted leg.

Registered on March 12, 2010, 105 Posts, 368 Comments