Cranes at Sunrise - Bosque

[Ian Cassell]

Canon 7D
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L

1/1600 sec f/6.3 ISO 400

Levels in CS6

I liked the fact the wing beats are different on the birds and I liked the cloud they flew in front of.

[Richard Mc Donald]

Nice one Ian, love the muted background colours, crop suits the composition also and you have 4 different wing positions to boot.

Richard

[Jeannean Ryman]

Ian, this is a very nice image and agree with what you like. I like those elements as well. On my monitor, the colors look a bit muddy and seem to lack contrast. I would try to add a little "pop" via curves and or vibrance/saturation. Maybe it's underexposed a little? For my eye, I'd like the birds higher in the frame and less blank sky above, taking them out of the middle. My PP skills aren't the best, but did a quick edit so you can see another possible comp/edit.

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, folks. Jeannean, thanks for a different look. I rather like the cloud and birds dividing the frame into 3 parts, but I appreciate what you show as well.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Ian, this is a classic Bosque scene and nicely captured. I agree with Jeannean's take on the colors, a bit more saturation looks good to me. I also agree with moving the birds out of the vertical center. You are correct in stating that the clouds divide the frame into three parts, but the birds divide the frame into two parts and are the primary subject. I might not have added as much canvas on the bottom, but I agree with what she is suggesting.

[Marina Scarr]

Nice silhouette and I like the RP. The colors pop a little more. I would make it more of a pano if it were mine.

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks Kerry and Marina. The more I look at it, the more I agree with something like Jeannean's crop idea. Marina, what do you mean more Pano?

[Marina Scarr]

I mean some off the bottom for more of a panorama.

[John Chardine]

This is very sweet Ian. What strikes me most is the perfect position of the birds and the varying wing pattern between all four. For me the OP is perfect.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Great comments all around and what a beautiful image,...just beautiful!!

I like Jeannean's post but the OP is sweet too,...keep em coming!

[Faraaz Abdool]

Beautiful shot, Jeannean's repost is the preferred image for me. Silhouette against the saturated colours works well, and I prefer the birds higher in the frame. What I love most about this image is that it looks like a four frame exposure of a single bird flying. Excellent.