I generally prefer to photograph flying birds against a simple background, usually sky or water, or a distant landscape. In this case, I had no say in the matter! I don’t much like the cluttered background, but, if for nothing else, I value the image as evidence of how well Group autofocus works. It did a great job in identifying the bird’s eyes and beak, which were moving quite quickly, against all the trees behind. Imagine attempting that, a while ago, with manual focus!
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Technical Details
D500. Sigma @ 135mm. 1/500 @ f/8. 400 ISO.
Excellent detail and the crane stands out nicely from the environment. Given the size of the bird, I could see giving a bit more room in the frame.
Hi Michael, nice capture with the bird well angled towards us. Details on the bird look good even with the light appearing to come from the opposite side. Nice freeze of the bird’s head and body at that relatively slow shutter with interesting wing blur rendered. As you mention, the background could be better but this still shows an interesting point of view.
Excellent focus and panning, with good separation from the BG! The wing blur is not a problem and adds to the action.
