Takeoff & repost

Gallery: AvianPosted February 2, 2013102 views9 comments

Another attempt to capture two cranes in the midst of take-off. I liked the triangle formed by the odd leg position of the rear crane and the fact that both were in focus. In this case, I don't mind the tip of the beak being hidden, though I probably would have preferred clicking the shutter just a fraction of a second later.

1DIV, 500mm f4 ISL + 1.4TC, Black Widow on RRS legs, f7..1, 1/2500, iso 640, Manual exposure (I brought it down a third of a stop in ACR). Cropped on the top to help de-emphasize the geese in the bg, took a touch off the left and added a bit of canvas on the right to improve the composition. Net effect was to end up with 14.2 MP. I also added a light layer of color to some hot spots on the oof geese. Processed in CS5.

Your comments and criticisms are most appreciated.

Thanks for looking,

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 2, 2013 at 10:34 PM

neat geometry to this one, Dennis. I like the way the poses work together, and I like the shadow of the primaries on the first bird's neck. sweet light and nice comp. the duplicated geese in the top right give away the cloning.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 2, 2013 at 11:15 PM

Thanks, Brian. I'd noticed that and tried adding another bird to mess with it a bit-that didn't work. After your comment, it occurred to me that I could remove a bird more easily. Hopefully I didn't botch it too badly.

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

Comment posted by Scott Frye on February 3, 2013 at 7:41 AM

Nice action on the cranes but my eye tends to go to the brightest spot in a photo -- and that be the band of birds of at the top -- for me that band distracts from the main action of the take off cranes

Registered on February 3, 2007, 387 Posts, 1136 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 3, 2013 at 8:01 AM

nice job, Dennis--I think that was the way to go.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on February 3, 2013 at 10:12 AM

Nice action on the take off. As you noted, the beak intersecting with the front bird is not ideal. I'm really drawn to the bright OOF snow geese in the background. I would work to bring that tonal range down.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on February 3, 2013 at 12:07 PM

Very pleasing array, Dennis. The water, wet feet and the legs doing geometry all add up to a great action filled image. And I agree about the distractions at the top. Maybe crop to a pano and then darken the remaing white bird parts?

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on February 3, 2013 at 2:45 PM

Nice job getting both birds in good focus Dennis. I agree about the snow geese be a little distracting however. I think it would be an easy fix though.