Express Spring Delivery

Gallery: AvianPosted March 31, 2015341 views5 comments

Avenches, Switzerland
D300S VR 150 - 500 mm/max f5/6.3 @ 250 mm f/9.0 ISO 320 1/1250 s
EV 0.00 Hand held WB Auto
Raw file, original cropped to 44% Photoshop CS6

Twenty pairs of migrant White Storks arrived a few weeks ago. Preparations for this year’s broods were already well under way!
In direct sunlight I find it tricky to photograph these birds with their gleaming white and pitch-black plumage. I took a number of shots and finally decided to post this one – my wife says I should have posted another, showing a larger portion of the left wing and visibly longer neck extension. Regarding the PPP, I opted against further sharpening.
Your crits. and nits are most welcome

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 31, 2015 at 12:25 PM

Nice job, David. That's a tough exposure in direct sun. I'd have to see the other image to pick between them, but I really like the extension of the near wing on this one. Whites look good.

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

Comment posted by Ronald Murphy on March 31, 2015 at 1:19 PM

Both the whites and blacks look in control to me. It's a great pose.

Registered on March 13, 2012, 279 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 31, 2015 at 4:17 PM

Good pose and good capture for such a heavy crop. The head and feet seem a little soft.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on March 31, 2015 at 5:10 PM

Great flight position on this. I agree with Phil that the head & feet are a little soft, you may the use some selective sharpening for them. Whites look good.

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by David Rowe on April 1, 2015 at 2:46 PM

Many thanks for your comments.
I find another technical problem when photographing these birds, side on, is their very large wingspan. This is a different shot of the same bird producing roughly the same crop. To avoid such a drastic crop I guess I should have used a longer focal length but this would have entailed a restricted DOF. The head and legs look sharper but over all think I prefer the first shot. Decisions, decisions…….

Registered on December 20, 2013, 133 Posts, 286 Comments