Another Sandhill Portrait

[Dave Leroy]

Taken yesterday at Riefel B.S. just south of Vanc., BC. There was some rain and sleet and birds were feeding in wet grass beside a small pond/slough. 50D, 400/5.6 at f/8, 1/500, EC+1 1/3, ISO800. Iwas surprised at the difference in head colors between the post earlier today by Steve and this bird. Dave

[joel quenneville]

You have a good pose here Dave. The feather detail is great, your exposure is good and the framing really compliments the pose. I would suggest some Shadow & Highlights and adding some saturation to make the head "pop" and draw the viewers eye directly to the center of attention.

[Dave Mills]

I took some of Joel's suggestions and came up with this

[Steve Maxson]

Nice sharpness and detail here, Dave. I like the vertical crop though I would be tempted to take even more from the right. I also like the repost as it brightens things up overall.
I see what you mean about the difference from my image. I think that your bird is a Lesser Sandhill (note how short the neck is compared to mine which is a Greater Sandhill). Also note how much farther back on the head the red goes on my bird compared to yours. I don't know that this is a subspecies difference, but it might be due to age. Possibly your bird is is a yearling in the process of shedding the feathers on the top of its head (this last bit is speculation as I don't know precisely when or how the young cranes shed those head feathers). If all the birds you were observing had heads like this, then my speculation wouldn't apply. :)

[Dave Leroy]

Thanks Joel for the suggestions and Dave for the repost. Yes, it looks much better and I have gone back and changed my copy. Tks
Interesting Steve, I had not caught the distinction between Greater and Lesser SHills. I just reviewed my photo collection of the small local resident flock and I do see head markings similiar to your photo. Guess I better pay attention. Dave

[Jon Thornton]

I hate to be contrary, but I actually prefer the first version. The muted colours in the first image look more realistic.

[Dave Leroy]

Hi Jon, Tricky business isn't it, trying to learn the "best" presentation for a photo. You are right that the first post is closer to how I saw the birds and is more realistic in that sense. Which is the better presentation? I don't know. We all do so many mod's on our photos as we process them that perhaps some of the reality is always chucked out the window. Beauty in the eye of the beholder I suppose. I had posted a similiar photo the day before and thought i had over done the head, and therefore toned this one down. My intention was to try and present the soft look of the feathers through out the photo. That is the long story.
I really appreciate your looking and commenting. Thanks, Dave