Mother and Child..

Sandhills at Bosque last November.
D500, 500pf, f5.6, 1/2000, iso220

2DS_4414bp2.jpg

Very nice pair Dan .2 up 2 down. Nice sky and hills .The darkness of the trees is a bit harsh but nothin much to be done about that . Beautiful sheen on the parent bird in full bloom.
You used the PF here but I notice that with your great recent Harrier shots you have gone back to the 300 [2.8 I assume] plus 1.7 teleconverter.
Both these combinations seem to come out an effective 750mm approx. at f5.6
Not many on this site have been using the 1.7 ,so does the 300 do a better job for you than the PF or have I got something wrong here..

Thanks Ian,
I would sell my 500pf except it is a nice travel lens....
Yes the old 300 f2.8 w/ the old 1.7 tc is better, quite a bit really.
A lot better bokeh, I can shoot at f4.8 which is 1/2 stop less and
the AF is a bit better.
I always thought the 300 f2.8 vii is underrated. It is great with extenders,
the 1.4 @ 420mm @ f4 is a really nice length to own where I live.
I have 3 focal lengths in one lens and all under f5 which is a big
deal in my dark area of the country.

Very nice frame Dan. I like the "ying and yang" position of the crane's wings.
A lovely BG with a really nice sky.
I know you had no control over this, but it is too bad the juvie has that stuff on its beak. I find my eye going to that area and my brain trying to figure out what it is.
Gail

Mother/child, wing up/down, close but perfect separation, sweet light, sky,mountains and creamy BG. I love this canvas overall... TFS

Hi Dan ... very nice to get the two I flight .Overall a tiny bit bright , I would burn the lighter tones through a red channel mask ( not the blank red channel , the red channel multiplied to itself and then use it as mask ) to get more depth in the HL and 1/4 tones . Not knowing if you are familiar with that channel blending thing ??!!

Nice BG and the fg shrub is adding some interest .

Surprised to see noise or grain across the OOF areas at Iso 220 ?? In the subjects as well ... in parts , not so obvious due to the tonal structure in the subjects .

TFS Andreas

My favorite thing here is the down stroke then the up stroke on the other bird.

Fun to see the age difference! Poses, exposure, and details all look good. Image looks like it could use some CW rotation to level the hills/lines behind, and I would add some add'l NR to the
bottom of the frame as it is veyr grainy as is.