Grey Crowned Crane

[Henry Domke]

The posts I've seen on the Avian forum seem to be all new images. How do you feel about occasionally seeing an older image?

This image was taken when I was working in Kenya in 1979. Some friends and I would rent a car on weekends and tour the parks. These were my first efforts at photographing birds. Super-telephoto lenses did not exist; Canon's first 600 f/4 lens would not be available until ten years later.

Minolta Black Body SRT 101 Vivitar Series-1 70-210mm Macro Zoom at 70mm f/5.6 1/200sec Kodachrome 64 Hand Held
Processed by Kodkak then Lightrooom 5 and Photoshop CC

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love to see an older image like this. I guess atthat age that would be grain we are seeing here eh! It does have a vintage look to it that has certain appeal, quite painterly as if on true canvas. Comp-wise I'd crop a bit off the bottom to minimize the yellow grasses down there...perhaps crop up until the right half of that yellow band is mostly gone with some showing along the left half.

Must be a trip to revisit older photographs like that!

[Henry Domke]

I guess atthat age that would be grain we are seeing here eh!

Yes. Since I don't work with scanned images I'm not skilled at the best way to use noise reduction to minimize grain.

Must be a trip to revisit older photographs like that!

It is! It is fun to reflect this era we live in; truly the golden age of photography. In just the few decades since I took this picture we have:
• Longer focal length lenses with better optical performance.
• Greater light sensitivity of the film (sensor)
• Auto focus
• No limit to the number of pictures taken (no 36-exposure rolls)
• Instantly see results without having to ship slides in to Kodak for processing.
• Servo to track birds in flight
• Less noise (no film grain!)

It is hard to imagine what kind of bird pictures we will be able to take in a few decades if this pace of change keeps up!
I can't wait!

[Doug Brown]

Amazing how far camera gear has come! I love the light and the multiple layers in your image. A slight CCW rotation might serve to minimize the bright grass in the LLC.

[Marina Scarr]

Fun to see this, Henry. I've been working on a new website and it's been great fun going through older images...but not this old!!! :)