Grey Crested Crane

[Paul Ricciardi]

Wish that this had been shot in the wild but alas what can you do except travel to Africa.

Olympus E500, Sigma 50-500mm, ISO500, 290mm, f/7.1, handheld, no flash

I'm pleased with the composition here but would like some critiques on the image. Personally I wish I had gotten the eye more in the shot, however not having it does add some mystery I suppose. It's not meant to be a "straight" wildlife shot, more artistic.

[Jim Poor]

Hi Paul,
I like the concept, but agree that a little more eye would make it better.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the idea and mood and agree with your self-critique. Since you don't have to travel to Africa to find this bird, I guess you can give it another try soon. :)

[Lana Hays]

Paul
You, as others, have critiqued it well. The eye really is important and would have made a big difference here. I like your thinking on ways to make an interesting image. If you can, you might want to go back and try again with this bird. I also think that this image is a bit soft and could use just a bit of USM.

[Maxis Gamez]

I like the mood on this one but I think the image needs to be brighter and with more contrast.

[Paul Ricciardi]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Lana: I agree it needs to be sharper, I USM'd it but it was also shot at 300mm handheld and at 1/60th of a second. The image is about as sharp as it's going to get. Between the sharpness and the eye thing I really really want to go back and try again someday soon.

Maxis: I kind of like the darkness and lack of contrast. Most of my wildlife images are bright, saturated, and punchy but this is a slightly more subtle one for me. I have toyed with making it brighter and levelling it differently than I did, but I think that "quiet" mood is disturbed if the image becomes too bright with lots of contrast. I very much so appreciate the input, however, it's made me rethink the image some.

[Maxis Gamez]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Lana: I agree it needs to be sharper, I USM'd it but it was also shot at 300mm handheld and at 1/60th of a second. The image is about as sharp as it's going to get. Between the sharpness and the eye thing I really really want to go back and try again someday soon.

Maxis: I kind of like the darkness and lack of contrast. Most of my wildlife images are bright, saturated, and punchy but this is a slightly more subtle one for me. I have toyed with making it brighter and levelling it differently than I did, but I think that "quiet" mood is disturbed if the image becomes too bright with lots of contrast. I very much so appreciate the input, however, it's made me rethink the image some.

Hi Paul,

I'm glad you have your own style.

Thank you for sharing!