Sandhill Silhouette

[James Lee]

First Post for me.
Took this image at Bosque Del Apache in late 2015. Kind of an obligatory sort of shot for Bosque I suppose, but kinda fun I think.

The image is heavily cropped, processed in Lightroom
Canon 7D, Sigma 500mm f4.5 at 1/2500 sec., f7.1 and ISO 500

[Marina Scarr]

Welcome to BPN, James, and congrats on your first post! You've shared a lovely silhouette. Like how some of the light is seeping through the wing feathers. I might consider a bit off of the bottom a right to keep the bird less centered, giving it room to move into the frame.

[James Lee]

Thanks for your comments and suggestion. I can see how it might improve the composition to crop some.

[Bill Dix]

A fine first post, James. Welcome to BPN. I like a lot of things about this, but I particularly like the fine detail of the silhouetted vegetation that creates a tapestry-like surrounding for the bird. I agree with Marina's suggestion, to put the bird slightly less centered, but don't lose too much of the tapestry. It also needs some CCW rotation so that the subjects are vertically aligned with their reflections.

[William Dickson]

Welcome to BPN James, and a beautiful frame to start off. Love the golden colour and the pose on the bird. Agree with the crop and rotation. Well done.

Will

[Stu Bowie]

Hi James, a big welcome to BPN, and a striking image to share. Great wing position showing off the primaries, together with the back lighting through them. Mentioned by Bill, the main issue is the need for some CCW rotation, and I would take off the bottom, as the partial reflection is not really working.