I have 2 photos of a Sandhill Crane just taking off in flight. The photo of the crane with just a bit of his foot in the water. That one was taken at 2:15:20,790 PM and the one with the crane in the air completely was taken at 2:15:21.000 pm. From a bird photograph point of view, which is the better one?
Dean, both of this look very good. The first one, with the water splashing off the feet adds an extra interesting detail. I wonder about cropping it from the left and top, to remove most of the top two clumps of grass. The is also some “strangeness”. In the upper half on the left, there are sharp lines in the water, when the water further from the frame is soft. In the lower right corner, the sharp lines in the water are disconnected. The seond post is a “cleaner” look, also showing fine detail in the bird, where the oof grass near the top tells the viewer a bit more about the location. There is also a color shift between the two posts, with the bluer (first post) version showing a bit more contrast in the bird’s feathers.
Both very nice, Dean, but for me, definitely the first. I like the water splash and the crane seems a bit sharper. I also like there’s more of an environmental aspect in the first one.