Excuse My Dirty Bill... Sandhill Crane

[Joseph Przybyla]

I captured this image in late November last year at Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, Florida. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D500
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED image captured at 400mm
1/2000 F/8 Matrix Metering EV +1/3 ISO 900 AWB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC 2018
Cropped for composition and presentation

[Jonathan Ashton]

Wonderful colours and details excellent focus. The iris looks amazing. The background couldn't be better - great shot.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the eye clarity, composition, BG, open beak and view through the nostrils. Just a little head turn towards us would have been nice but that would be getting a bit greedy. Very well done Joe!

[Mike Poole]

Top notch this one Joe, great light, and details, even down to the slightly open bill. A simple but very well executed frame

Mike

[Isaac Grant]

beautiful details on this one. Have to love those tame Florida Sandhill Cranes! I agree with Jim that the image would be stronger if the head was turned a few degrees towards us as opposed to away from us. Also something seems funny about the background, specifically the area below and to the left of the beak. Did you do something to that? I would expect that with the bird being so close that you would have more separation between the bird and background and a more pleasing blur to it. Or was this bird just really close to a tree line?

[John Mack]

Very nice. Great detail on the whole bird. Nice background as well.

[Glenn Pure]

Boy, you must have been pretty close Joe. A really nice portrait IMHO with excellent detail and tonal range, all set off by an uncluttered background that provides good separation for the bird. Nice one.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Thanks everyone for viewing and commenting, very much appreciated.