We were out Saturday at the Whitewater Wildlife Area in southeast AZ. I took a lot of photos that day and will likely go back before they leave in early February. There were thousands there but I was told years in the past a lot more.
Other than using Topaz Photo AI to clean noise, this photo is as shot. I wanted to get some feedback composition and other things.
R6m2 EF 100-400 ii with 1/4x extender. 560mm 1/2500 f/14 ISO 1600. HH
@Dean_Salman - When I teach workshops at Bosque Del Apache NWR, one of the first pieces of advice given to participants is not to shoot the cranes against a blue sky. The reason is that it doesn’t tell any story about the birds or the location. Each place where there are cranes, is unique and the backgrounds help convey the story. Places like Bosque have a very distinctive feel when the background shows the distant Chupadera Mountains, or if captured lower in flight, the grasses and reeds so common on the refuge. That is true at any location. Those images always have a stronger feel than any image against a blue sky.
Thank you for the feedback, Keith. That is good to know and makes sense.
Hello, I like that you captured three in this shot in terms of composition and that I can see the heads of all three. Love that the leader has wings in the “up position” as definitely conveys its strength as the leader. {Great title). Because the last bird doesn’t have the red eye patch I am compelled to learn something about its life cycle as I am guessing it is a juvenile. The leader might be a bit tight to the right-hand edge as viewers are used to the bird having space to go somewhere, though the ascending angle does convey that. Maybe try tightening the crop a bit on the left?
I can see why you want to go back for more!
I guess my thoughts on seeing this image echo Keith’s and Robena’s. I prefer something other than a blue sky and I liked the orientation of the cranes and the sense of energy.
Thanks again, @Keith_Bauer, @Allen_Brooks, and @Robena.Sirett. I did add some sky to the right and cropped it 2:3 putting the lower bird and upper bird in the focus point (rule of 3rds). To kill some of the plain look of no storyline added some high clouds from my cloud library I have. Not sure if it really helped this photo. I am going back out there tomorrow and will see about getting some taking off, landing, or just flying low. Wish me luck 
Good luck! One of the reasons I love bird photography is there is always a reason to go back out and try again tomorrow!
Nice job on the repost, Dean. It takes care of what I was going to suggest. I do agree with Keith that a blue sky background is kind of boring and doesn’t tell much of a story, but it’s awfully hard to resist, particularly the first time you get to shoot these birds. If you can find a place where they’re taking off or landing (roosting pond or feeding area), you can easily get some interesting backgrounds. However, I’ve found that plowed fields and stubble aren’t too attractive.
