Trio of Sandhill Cranes

[Loi Nguyen]

Image taken at Necedah NWR in September. I saw these guys foraging on the ground and tried to snuck up on them. Got a couple of shots before they flew of in a nice formation. Not much light late afternoon. I wish to see more of their eyes, so not posting until now. Would appreciate your comments. This is almost FF.

1DX
500f4 II + 1.4X III
1/1600
f5.6
ISO-2000
HH

Thank you for your comments.

Loi

[gail bisson]

Hi Loi,
I like the green in the FG and the sharpness of all 3 birds.
I wish the birds were not flying away from you and I really wish the front bird's wing didn't intersect with the bill.
I like your comp but could see a version with the birds moved up in the frame so that there would be more green and less sky.
The rear bird's position is terrific.
And despite my comments I do find this image very appealing!
Gail

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Loi, I agree with Gail about wishing the birds weren't flying away.

Do you have enough IQ to crop a vertical from just the first bird? I think with that pose and the background, you really have killer image if composed properly.

Miguel

[Moe Ali]

Beautiful birds Loi. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing them up close in Alberta, but hopefully one day.

I can't remember where I heard this technical comment, but someone had mentioned that when photographing groups of birds in flight you should aim for an odd number. So in your case, getting 3 in the shot is beneficial and should help balance out the image instead of say 4 or 2. Not sure if people agree on this technique. Anyway, something to think about…..

[David Salem]

The wing position and the calling pose of the trailing bird is cool but the others are too far in front to be useful to the frame IMO. The techs look good and I like seeing the habitat. See ya soon Loi

[Loi Nguyen]

Thank you everyone. I like the image too, but knew it wasn't quite up to the standard, but couldn't really put my fingers on it. You are right, the birds were flying away from me. Loi