Neck and Neck

[Roger Clark]

Two sandhill cranes taking off. Bosque del Apache. This is a larger crop of the image posted yesterday:
http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/105958-The-Takeoff-Race

1D Mark IV, 500 f/4 at f/6.3, 1/3200 sec at iso 400, cropped, background blurred. Sharpened with Richardson-Lucy Deconvolution.
Please let me know which you like better.

Roger


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[christopher galeski]

Like them both Roger,but this is the one for me,even better with more room on the left if you have got it.nice one.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Roger, beautiful image, great sharpness, light and color! I like this framing better than the previous one.

[John Cooper]

I loved your previous post Roger but this one tops it for me. The additional action of the feet splashing up the water adds greater imapct to the image. TFS

[PhilCook]

I'd have to flip a coin to pick between this and the tighter cropped one Roger....just brilliant photography, and admit to being 100% jealous, candy for these old eyes

[Nick Palmieri]

I like them both but I think I prefer this one. it's always nice to see the entire bird (s). I think the "neck in neck" heads and symmetry still steal the show in this one..so no reason not to show the full bodies. Very nice capture roger!

[gail bisson]

I Like them both but prefer this one.
Love the symmetry and IQ.
This is one to print for sure.
Congrats on a superb image,
Gail

[Tim King]

Outstanding in many ways, Roger!!

[Karl Egressy]

Great sharpness an d clarity, beautiful dynamic action shot, Roger.

[Melissa Groo]

So hard to choose, the impact of the symmetry is more powerful in your first post, but this has the full impact of the action. They are both absolutely fantastic.

[Marina Scarr]

While I really liked your first post, the one leg was bothering me just a tad. This version takes care of that issue and adds that terrific splash.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

What a splendid light and couple! love the splash also!
I'm glad I came to see this pic!

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Absolutely incredible image, especially with the two bird's synchronicity and the repeating curvilinear patterns of the wing feathers. Having both birds in sharp focus is a feat in itself! Nonetheless, I would think about using a content aware brush to remove the numerous blurry light colored spots.
I found that your original crop lead to an unbalanced composition, and this one completely rectifies that problem. Well done Roger. regards~Bill

[David Salem]

I love both. Great how a beautiful sharp shot with interaction like this can be cropped to make two different looks. Very well done!