So I was thinking about what I could submit for this week that would be a little different for me and came up with this older image I made in 2019. I was out to shoot some abandonment in the fog and came away with a lot of great photos of that, but then these two crossed the road ahead of me and walked into this field. Cranes in the throes of pair bonding rituals are so oblivious to everything else a lot of the time that you can get pretty close to them. This was taken in early April.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Unfortunately I didn’t have a longer lens with me and so used my equivalent 70-200mm f/2.8 and cropped this pretty heavily. Is it just too indistinct as a result?
I left them small in the scene to emphasize this week’s theme as well. Does it work?
Lr for a big crop, a lot of work to bring out any detail in what was a very foggy field. Some masks to bring out the birds and the ground nearby. Sharpening, texture & nr.
Between the foggy backdrop and the plain dry field in the foreground, the Cranes stand out very nicely, Kris. Even with the heavy crop there is still plenty of detail in the birds and the whole scene reads quite well. One I would love have seen and captured.
Hi Kris,
this is a beautiful image. I actually really like that it’s not just an animal portrait, but also shows something of the surroundings. The brown grasses in the foreground create a nice color contrast with the tree silhouettes in the background (maybe that color contrast would be improved if you would cool down the WB just slightly).
I really like the silhouette of the leafless tree in the background. I wondered what the image would look like if you cropped it on the right side. I just downloaded your file and played with it a bit.
Thanks @linda_mellor & @Jens_Ober - fog is a photographer’s best friend, isn’t it? I just have to thank the lens I used that there is this much detail in there. Pretty soon they will be back and hopefully I can find some again. They’re huge birds with the males reaching about 4 feet tall when they reach their prime.
The crop looks good, Jens. I like the V of the trees pointing to the birds. I didn’t even pick up on that before so thanks a bunch for taking the time to play with the photo.
Really nice scene, Kris. I like the birds small in the frame and the silhouette of the trees in the fog. Just goes to show not every subject needs to fill the frame. Nice example of what can be done even without a long lens.
I think the crop works just great, Kris. I love the fact that these two beauties have the entire foggy field to themselves, at least that’s what it seems to be. They don’t seem lost in the field of view, and their playful poses bring a bit of fun energy to this quiet scene. Beautiful!
Thanks @Mark_Muller - looks like an even tighter crop will improve this. Thanks everyone for chiming in, this one has been sitting in the archives for a few years untouched.
