Low Flying Sandhill

Gallery: AvianPosted January 22, 2011152 views10 comments

Here is another sandhill crane image from my trip to Bosque. This guy had just taken off and was still not very far off the pond surface. Photographing these guys in flight is addicting! C&C welcome

Nikon D700
Nikor 200-400 AFS VR f/4 @ 400
Wimberly side-kick
1/3200 at f/10, ISO 2000

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Joel DeYoung on January 22, 2011 at 3:50 PM

Gorgeous color and details Steve. The action here is really neat. Love how you caught the wings with the tips flared out. Nice and sharp where it needs to be. Well done.

Registered on July 12, 2009, 92 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 22, 2011 at 4:03 PM

Nice one, Stephen--is this really at ISO2000?? Sharpness looks good, and I love the position of the feet. Does this need some clockwise rotation? It seems like it does, but it can be hard to tell with the weird positions these guys get into when they take flight.

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

Comment posted by Stephen Weaver on January 22, 2011 at 4:18 PM

Brian
You may be right about the rotation: I use a level bubble, but when you start panning it is easy to get out of level. I rechecked the exif and it was indeed ISO 2000, but I misread the shutter speed: it was actually 1/3200

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

Comment posted by Jay Patel on January 22, 2011 at 4:53 PM

Excellent in all respects. Bosque is a great place to capture these birds in action. Thanks for posting this.

Registered on August 28, 2008, 87 Posts, 566 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on January 22, 2011 at 6:18 PM

Nice shot Steve. Like the colors and you nailed the sharpness.

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 22, 2011 at 11:17 PM

Really nice pose!
Does seem to need some CW rotstion.
Is the water really this color? Seems quite over-saturated to me, and the bright blue competes with the soft colors of the crane.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 22, 2011 at 11:36 PM

The Sandhill looks great against the striking blue water, the bird's shadow on the water adds a lot. The leg position is maybe a bit awkward, but I'm getting really picky now! I bet this was a blast.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 23, 2011 at 12:59 PM

Great image, Stephen. I like the fact that the legs are still in running pose.

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

Comment posted by Sally King on January 23, 2011 at 4:26 PM

I love the intense blues of the frozen water. I've seen it just like that. Love the pose of the bird. Perfect takeoff.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on January 23, 2011 at 5:10 PM

Stephen,

The pose is great and you have wonderful detail & sharpness for using ISO 2000. I like the look at the crane's eye, the curling wingtips and the position of the feet. I would desaturate the blues of the water some, the brightness & blueness is competing with the crane for my attention. Also if you have more of the original frame on the left I would add some back there to allow room for the crane to "fly" into.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments