Sandhill crane banking

[Randy Stout]

Good day all:

Another one from my sandhill trip. Early morning, still soft light. I would have preferred to have some detail in the background, clouds in this case, but not to be. The pose and lighting helped compensate for the lack to some degree.

D700 500mm f/4 with TC 1.4 ISO 1250 f/5.6 1/2500s Gitzo/Wimberley

Post: PS CS4. I removed a second crane that was half visible on the right side. Cropped from right as well. The vertical dimension is full frame.

Advice always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[arash_hazeghi]

Beautiful shot Randy, lots of detail and entire bird is in focus. I might sharpen a bit more to bring out those feathers. TFS

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Randy...liked the diagonal placement a lot. Agree with Arash's suggestion on sharpening. And I like the fact that the crane is looking at you. Very unusual.

[denise ippolito]

Randy, Beautiful soft golden light. Very nice details throughout and on the underside of the wings. I like the soft blue BG.

[ChasMcRae]

Love the light on the bird

[Matt Vosniak]

Randy I love the compostion and that is some wing span on this fella. My only wish is that the head was turned slightly rather than so straight at the viewer. I know you take them as they happen but I think a slight head turn would have really accentuated the interesting head and beak on a Sandhill.

[Stu Bowie]

Sweet light Randy, and I like the banking angle and eye contact. Good underwing detail, and showing the warm light and colours nicely. Well captured.

[Tony Whitehead]

I like the diagonal pose and warm light. My favourite thing is the aerodynamics in action with the inside wing pulled in a little to reduce lift and create the bank and slip - too cool. It must feel great to fly like that and feel the wind under your wings!

[David Fletcher]

Gorgeous light and use of diagonal Randy. Excellent under carriage details and a little tickle on some sharpening add some polish. Nicely done.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for the comments. Much appreciated.

Cheers

Randy