Grey Crowned Crane 2

[Ken Watkins]

Taken on Lake Kariba, Matisadona National Perk, Zimbabwe 17th September, 2010

EOS 1D MkIV

500mm F4 IS hand-held from drifting boat

F5.6, ISO 800, 1/640

[Randy Stout]

Ken:

These guys are some of my favorite birds, they are beautiful. We have several at our local zoo.
Exposure, sharpness are good, with nice display of crown.
I could see a 10% crop of the free space on the right.

Cheers

Randy

[denise ippolito]

Ken, Very nice exposure and details look good. I agree w/ Randy regarding the crop. I like the crown and feel you have captured it well.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Ken. A very nice specimen in beautiful light giving you a good pose. Very good sharpness considering this was hand held from a boat. I could see a small crop from the right also - just to get the bird a little more off center. There are a few small bright areas in the background that are trying to catch my eye - these could easily be toned down. Well done.

[Doug Brown]

Aside from the placement of the bird in the frame, a solid image of a species I'd love to photograph in person someday. Nice eye contact and sharpness.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Ken,Agree with above comments. Nice light,pose and sharpness. Good detail and a nicely muted backround...Also agree on taking out a few bright spots in the backround...

[Ken Watkins]

Thanks for the comments I thought the bird was relatively off centre, but I will take a look as I have plenty more room.

I must confess to mising the bright spots.