Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

Place: Bosque del Apache NWR, NM
Date: December 3, 2016, 7:04 am
Equipment: Nikon D7200, Nikkor AF-S 300/4, hand held
Exposure: ISO 800, 1/4000^th second @ f/4, Aperture priority matrix metered
Raw, PS CC 2015 on Mac, 54% of frame

As previously stated, I haven’t spent much time at the crane pools at Bosque del Apache, preferring to maximize my time slowly driving the loop road. But this year I stopped for a few shots of the morning fly-out. Even with this single short session I learned some basics of getting better results there, and I will likely do more when I go back in future years.

I've seen lots of better images of the fly-out, so consider this a starting point for future work.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. Larger image for critical viewing provided.