I was just leaving a local wetland after sunset when a group of Sandhill cranes flew in. There wasn’t much light left in the sky. They were making their usual racket. I loved the graphic shapes of the crane’s silhouettes. I returned the next morning but they were not visible from the trail. Luckily a few of them flew near me as the took off at dawn with a bit more light.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any feedback welcome. The image felt like a graphic so I went for a high contrast black and white. I should have also tried a slow shutter speed as well in hindsight. I’ve been trying to explore the limits of wildlife photography in low light conditions.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
f/6.3, 1/250, iso 5000. 600mm on full frame. Main exposure adjustments don in LR. Topaz denoise used to reduce noise. Photoshop to to cleanup stick and reeds in the foreground.
A great choice to go with monochrome. I can’t speak to the “cleanup” you did in post, but I don’t mind the thinner grasses providing an alternative/background texture. I’m curious how many shots you took… with so many subjects, it’s challenging getting them all posing in an ideal manner. In this case, I feel the cranes on the edges provided the boldest shapes and best layout.
I’m in agreement with Max on this one - very bold and arresting. Processing looks right for it and I love the open beak calling you’ve caught. If you have more of just that group it would be nice to see. Too bad the two in the center are converging, but they just won’t take direction will they? LOL.
Outstanding silhouettes and good choice to make this a black and white. The full size image is striking, exhibiting fascinating behaviors and reflections. Well done!
Wow, very striking. It would have been good if they had all been separate, but as Kris said, they just won’t take direction - ha ha. Do you think they would have stood still long enough for a long shutter speed? I could see cropping off the leftmost bird and those vertical lines. They don’t go so much with the rest of the frame.
I really like the choice of Black and White for this, Bryan. Like Max, I’m curious about how many images you took of this. While I like some pieces of the geometry, I find the leftmost crane is suffering a bit too much interference from the tree reflections and the three on the right feel a bit foo crowded together. That said, I know getting seven birds to cooperate is almost impossible.
thanks for the feedback. I took about 10 images. before this the crane where in an area with very messy forground/background. here are a few of the images with quick setting updates but not fully processed There are a couple with the left hand crane in better position but worse on the right hand group of 3. Still happy with to come away with an image when I thought the day was done.
