Sandhill Crane Takeoff

I was out there in November and I can appreciate how hard it is to get a nice clean shot of these guys heading down the runway - well done. The image does appear sharp and you have captured the action nicely. My only suggestion is that the image seems just a little dark, I might lighten it up just a tad.

Great job to single one out as much as you did here. The cloning work looks good to me. I really like this light, though I would like to see it brightened a bit, but that might mess up the light, so it's hard to tell. I'm sorry we missed seeing the larger version. I really like the wing position here, and it looks from this small version as though you stopped the action well.

nice, Harry. I totally agree with you about the difficulty of isolating a single subject at the bosque. You did so well here, even if you needed to clone a little, and I like the position of the bird's wings and feet as well as the trailing water. depending on what you have available to you, I would consider going very slightly looser on the comp everywhere but behind the bird, but just slightly and just a suggestion, because this looks good as is.

fyi, if you forget to post the larger version, but catch it before anyone comments, you can delete the post (from the gallery page) and repost from scratch.

Hi Harry:

Nice image. It certainly can be difficult at the Bosque to isolate one crane. I wouldn't mind a bit more room in the image and specifically a bit more on the right for the crane to move into. Hope you had a great time at the Bosque.

Loe the wing position here Harry, and that back foot trailing in the water. It sounds like Bosque is an amazing time!

Harry, nice light & good job capturing the action! I've never been to Bosque, but it sounds like a great place!

I like this. The crane looks sharp at this size and I really enjoy the action. I too might lighten the image slightly (at least to try it and see how it looks). I'm fine with your composition but then I do tend to like'm fairly tight.

Nice action shot Harry, I like the take off pose and light on this. Maybe a little more room but since that background really makes the crane stand out. One of these days I will have to make it over to Bosque, I have never been there either. Wonderful shot, way to go.

Harry,
I just saw this. Sorry I didn't get to earlier. I'm closing my eyes and imagining how sharp and beautiful the larger version is and it is amazing. OK, i'm awake again. I can certainly appreciate how difficult it must be to isolate just one bird in as sea of many. You did a great job on the cloning part. Can't tell. The light is really terrific and the whites were correctly exposed for particularly on the head. Love the upswing of wings and the water dripping off of the back leg. Would like to see more Harry!