Sandhill Crane - Morning Light

[Keith Bauer]

Bosque Del Apache from November 2007.

Cropped from the original format to this pano look. Interested in your comments on the image and the crop.

Canon 20D
500mm f/4 with 1.4X converter
1/800 @ f/5.6
ISO 200
No Flash

Thx for the C&C

[Keith Carver]

Beautiful morning light, BG, Keith, and I like the pano crop very much. Head looks sharp on my monitor. In terms of bird color, this is pretty much the way I remember these morning light cranes looking when I was at the Bosque last November - too. You might try selecting the bird and gently nudging up the exposure no more than a quarter stop.

[Greg Basco]

Keith, looks great, and I like the pano crop.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[david cramer]

The crop works well. I agree with nudging the brightness of the crane, to give it a little more pop from the bg.

[Doug Brown]

Getting ready for this winter Keith? I like the pano here, and I also like the topside wing detail. Here's a repost with a somewhat different approach to making the bird stand out. I boosted contrast and decreased the brightness of the bird, although I must confess that I like it as presented too.

[Keith Bauer]

Thanks for the feedback. Here is a version where I selected the crane, feathered the selection gently and then used a levels adjustment layer to move the mid-tone slider to lighten up the bird just a little bit.... better??

[Keith Carver]

Definitely better, Keith. The top side illumination looks very natural, and your repost gives it just the pop it needs. Nice work.

[James Salywoda]

Sweet Shot! nice colors and detail I also like the habitat and wing position.

[Ed Cordes]

I like the pano crop. I also like either presentation. There is only a subtle difference on my monitor.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love the crop you chose...pano is the perfect choice here. Although faint, there is a pale streak that runs horizontally across the frame above the bird that could be toned down to the same level as the rest of the BG.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great light, BG and eye contact. I only wish for a different wing position.