9,000th Post: My Best Battling Crane Shot

[Doug Brown]

The first 8,000 were a piece of cake, but the last 1,000 have been a long time coming! Many thanks to everyone who helps make BPN such a great forum! Now, about the photo. Many of the best Crane battles occur in less than ideal light, often before the sun rises in the morning. This is not surprising, because the greatest concentration of Cranes occurs when they are roosting overnight. Another issue is DOF; Cranes are large and when you put two of them together DOF can become a very real problem. The third big problem is that due to the dynamic nature of the battle, key anatomic features are often hidden by flailing body parts. The last potential problem is that there are often lots of other Cranes surrounding and/or blocking the action; if nothing else they can be visually distracting. I was fortunate on a number of counts with this image, which was taken last month. I got some early sun on my subjects; you can tell that the sun was quite low on the horizon because the water is still unlit. Despite the complex interaction and the fact that I was shooting wide open, the birds heads were both in my plane of focus. The Cranes were relatively isolated from other birds, although I did remove parts of two birds in the BG. And no important body parts are hidden from view. One other bit of PS work: I opted to fix a nicitating membrane over the eye of the bird on the right. I hope you enjoy the image!

105521

Canon 1D Mark IV, 600mm, f/4, 1/1250, ISO 800, manual exposure, hand held

[Ofer Levy]

WOW!!! An amazing behaviour and action image!!! Congratulations!:cheers:

[Bill Jobes]

That's just beautiful, Doug ! Such a colorful mid-air dance !

[MohsenVahedipour]

What a great action shot! Perfect capture. Congrats for milestone.

[Ken Watkins]

Doug,

Cogratulations on your 9,000th post that is an awful lot.

What an image to celibrate with, absolutely marvelous:cheers:

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Doug, Im not sure what to congratulate you on first, your 9000th, or the image.:w3 Huge congrats on your milestone, and thank you for all your help on the site, not to mention your educated critiques. Now the image - the IQ in this is exquisite, warm light and colours look great, and of course well timed to capture this action. Just love the trailing droplets from the crane on the left. A traditional landscape crop may work with the cranes placed centrally. Congrats on a fine image.

[Randy Stout]

Doug:

Excellent on all counts, tech. and impact. Just enough light on the important areas, dark water helps with separation.

Squarish crop works for me, as all the attention is directed centrally. I suspect the wider you go, the more distracting elements you have to deal with.


Congrats on the 9000 as well.

Cheers

Randy

[Dan Brown]

Great work for your 9K! Congrats! A question.....assuming you were using the back focus button, did you release it for the action shot or not?

[Harshad Barve]

Great image form great photog and Mod here , Big congrats
TFS

[Mital Patel]

9k and still growing. You are too young to take an example and learn something from. Thanks for constant guidance to us and sharing something that make us learn.

This is no doubt an extra ordinary image from a great great person i know .

Cheers Doug

[Bill Dix]

Super dynamic shot. Love the head positions, the habitat beneath, the trailing water drops, and everything else about it. Congrats on another milestone. Thanks for all you offer to BPN.

[gail bisson]

Let me add to all the congrats and also to say thank you for all your help and the time you invest in BPN. You have helped me many times a newbie and I thank you for that.
Now, to the image. Excellent action, beautiful light but the best is the fact that there are no other cranes in the BG.
Gail

[arash_hazeghi]

One of the best SHC images I have seen. Congrats and what a great photo to celebrate!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Wow Doug, an absolute gem, you have certainly given me something to aspire to - congratulations, a brilliant post.

[Sachin Saraf]

Congrats Doug...What a great Image to reach 9000th post... Only those who have tried hands at shooting this action can appreciate the real joy of achieving what you have done here...I am a newbie and look forward to learn from you...

Cheers...
Sachin

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Doug...first things first...Congratulations. You've been a pillar of support and encouragement here. Thx for everything.

great image...so many things to like. What I like the most is that the DOF is just right to cover the birds and create a nice BG blur. That and the two eyes so clearly visible. light, sharpness, details, exposure, composition...all those things are excellent as always. Send this one to some contests.

[Grace Scalzo]

Congrats on 9000 and most of all on this wonderful image. Thanks for all you do here on BPN, you are a great teacher, a great photographer and I always look forward to your posts.

[Andrew Merwin]

This is a perfectly superb image for your 9,000th post or any other post. Congratulations on both the image & the 9000th post. TFS your knowledge & insights with all of us here on BPN.

[Morkel Erasmus]

A real cracker Doug! We've come to expect nothing less...
congrats on 9K and here's to many more!

[Dan Busby]

A terrific photo Doug. I always look forward to your posts and critiques - they serve to inspire and to learn from.

[Jay Gould]

Your 9000th certainly deserved a very special glass of wine to toast the capture!! :cheers:

[Doug Brown]

Your 9000th certainly deserved a very special glass of wine to toast the capture!! :cheers:<embed id="application/x-exifeverywhere" type="application/x-exifeverywhere" width="0" height="0">

Thanks Jay! What are we drinking???

[Kristin Brown]

Congratulations Doug on both the 9K mark AND such a wonderful image! You are truly an inspiration to me. I am sure I will die before I post 9,000 images!
Love the action in this photo. The crop works well too.
Oh, I will supply the wine for you and Jay!
Kristin

[Joe Senzatimore]

KILLER!!!!!!!:cheers:

[Jim Crosswell]

Stunning image Doug! I like the action, sharpness, DOF and setting. Congratulations on your 9k post and look forward to seeing more.

[Brendan Dozier]

Wonderful capture & comp, Doug! Congratulations, and thanks for sharing your great images and advice here on BPN. :cheers:

[dankearl]

I will add my compliments.
Just excellent IQ and action captured.

[Tom Rambaut]

Great action. I like the shadowing while the important areas, both faces, are in sun. I like the shadow of the right birds beak on its far wing. Well done on the 9000.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Awesome...Sharpness is amazing with fantastic interaction. Congrats on the 9000 and thanks for all your input!

[Melissa Groo]

Congratulations Doug! And thanks for sharing this spectacular photo! I love the light, the sharpness, the drama, and the way the wings are perfectly aligned. Just gorgeous in every respect.

[Doug Brown]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment!

[Richard Unsworth]

:S3:

Fantastic shot and congrats

In the middle of nowhere someone said to me "did Doug Brown take that pic! lol" (Carlos Hernandez)

youre famous

[Emilio Campos]

A stunning picture, sharpness, composition, etc. ..

I hope someday to 9000 post

Congratulations

[Troy Lim]

Superb shot Doug.

[Jamie Douglas]

Excellent Doug. This is definetly the best SHC behaviour image I have seen.

[Jay Gould]

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Thanks Jay! What are we drinking???

Penfold's Shiraz, of course!

When you join me in Oz Land it will be my pleasure to shout you more than a drink!!

Cheers Mate, you teach us and show us so much.

[Rod Warnock]

Congratulations !! Doug !! And thanks for all your helpful and well informed and supportive comments!!
The image: What a cracker !! It has everything.
Best regards
Rod Warnock

[Robert Holguin]

Wow!!!! Wonderful image. Love everything about and everything has already been said.
Way to go!!!

[Doug Brown]

Thanks again everyone!

[denise ippolito]

Doug, Beautiful action captured. Congratulations on the 9K. Great details!!:S3:

[Danny Laredo]

Brilliant image!!! Congrats!