Results 1 to 19 of 19

Thread: Sandhill Cranes at Sunrise

  1. #1
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Albuquerque, NM
    Posts
    2,132
    Threads
    193
    Thank You Posts

    Default Sandhill Cranes at Sunrise

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    This is one of my favorite images of the cranes. It's straight out of the camera, except for the crop (top and bottom only). If I remember correctly, I made my initial meter reading a certain distance from the sun and adjusted until I got what I liked. Then it was a waiting game. I positioned myself so that I could get the shot of them flying toward the sun and waited for a this shot. I got a quite a few more but I really liked the direct line that they made in this one.

    I have tried darkening the silhouettes a little, but it looked unnatural to me.

    Nikon d300s | 70-200 VRII + 2.0x
    400mm | 1/1250" | f/8.0 | ISO 200
    Manual exposure mode | handheld
    WB set to 7200 K (between cloudy and shade) for the warm feel.

    Comments, critiques, and suggestions are appreciated and welcomed.

  2. #2
    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Centurion, South Africa
    Posts
    21,360
    Threads
    1,435
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Miguel, firstly, love the graduation of colour from the sun back towards the last crane. Yes, to the straight line of flight from all five cranes, and I agree that creating a silhouette on the cranes would look unnatural, but if you darkened them to the same as the back crane would maybe work. Good choice of crop, only way to go.

  3. Thanks Miguel Palaviccini thanked for this post
  4. #3
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Toronto, ON
    Posts
    1,403
    Threads
    194
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    I agree with Stuart above: gradually darkening the front four...certainly not to point of silhouette, but darker than they are now? What a lovely shot! Great birds, great sun, great colors!

  5. #4
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Guelph, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,509
    Threads
    827
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Excellent shot, Miguel. It reminds me to Bosque, New Mexico.
    I was wondering if the sun could go a bit darker.

  6. #5
    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Nova Scotia
    Posts
    12,731
    Threads
    910
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Very unusual image.
    I love the gradation of bright to dark.
    Good wing position on all the birds. If I were to nitpick I would wish I could see the primary tips in bird #4.
    I agree that I would decrease to brightness of the sun a bit,
    Gail

  7. Thanks Miguel Palaviccini thanked for this post
  8. #6
    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    12,487
    Threads
    1,892
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Beautiful color gradation, and pano crop. Great line of birds. It would be interesting to see what effect darkening the front four would have -- sounds like worth trying.

  9. Thanks Miguel Palaviccini thanked for this post
  10. #7
    BPN Member jack williamson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    south mississippi
    Posts
    1,979
    Threads
    107
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    I like it just like it is. Awesome color, well done.

    Jack

  11. #8
    BPN Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Dallas, Texas.
    Posts
    6,260
    Threads
    426
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Nice composition, no overlap, great colors....separation between the birds is also good.

    I agree with others that you can do some experimenting with reducing the flare effect. You have a very fine base image here.

  12. #9
    BPN Member Alan Murphy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    2,193
    Threads
    467
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Love the graduated BG and the cranes. Wish it was mine.

  13. #10
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Posts
    222
    Threads
    27
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Miguel,This is beautiful.I like it as is.Great shot.

  14. #11
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indian Lake Estates, FL
    Posts
    32,506
    Threads
    1,433
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Nicely done. Love the pano approach. Birds #1, 2, and 5 have good wing positions; 3 & 4 are pretty much pancakes which are good for breakfast if you are not a diabetic but not so good for BIF.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  15. #12
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Pune, Maharashtra, India
    Posts
    7,409
    Threads
    469
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Miguel,
    Every thing has been said about this excellent image.Love it.

    Regards,
    Satish.

  16. #13
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Albuquerque, NM
    Posts
    2,132
    Threads
    193
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Thanks for all of the comments.

    Carl, Gail - not sure I can do much about the brightness of the sun. It's blown out. If I try to make it darker, won't it just turn grey? Suggestions?

    Stuart, Jack, Bill, Kaustubh - I'm going to try darkening the cranes just a tad to see how it comes out. I was thinking of making a selection, feathering it 1-2 px and trying a curves adjustment layer. Then possibly using a layer mask with a gradient from right to left so that the effect isn't even (as I'm not sure that it should be).

    Alan - thanks for the compliment!

    Arthur - I'm not a fan of pancakes, and I'm not diabetic. :)

  17. #14
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indian Lake Estates, FL
    Posts
    32,506
    Threads
    1,433
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Miguel. This is a super-difficult situation and there is not a lot that you can do processing wise. If your original capture had been properly exposed for the sun then the sky would have been black..... Voila, no birds then.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  18. #15
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Posts
    1,997
    Threads
    86
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Evocative, and certainly one of the nicer images I've seen of this type when the sun is included.
    There is an appealing graphic quality to the image and a sweet transition in the oranges from the
    sun to the end of the frame on the right hand side. Useage is something to consider here....
    If you printed this big, I wonder if the sun would not become overwhelming....viewed at this size,
    I think it's OK.

  19. #16
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Posts
    157
    Threads
    19
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    The wait paid off - this is really a special image. I don't know if I'd darken some of the cranes as others have suggested. I think I would bring down the sun brightness just a bit.

    Pete

  20. #17
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Rotonda West , FL
    Posts
    3,642
    Threads
    198
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Pretty cool shot and I too love the graduation. For me the light is just a tad bright and I would be tempted to tone down a little by the sun. Great plan and execution.

  21. #18
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Costa Rica
    Posts
    4,547
    Threads
    253
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Lots of info and good advise here. I like the crop you made here. Birds are forming a nice line and I agree that darkening them would look unnatural but I would give it try anyways.

  22. #19
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Albuquerque, NM
    Posts
    2,132
    Threads
    193
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    I tried darkening the sun area a bit via the suggestions, but it looked unnatural for my taste. I did however selectively darken the cranes using a levels adj layer. Below is the results. Thanks again for all of the advice!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics