MOTIF: Sandhill Cranes and Moon II


Posted by Greg Downing on Sun Mar 14, 2004 2:04 pm

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Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache, San Antonio, NM

This is a straight shot and not a digital composite. It is from the same series which included this image:

http://www.naturescapes.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=6512

From that post as well is how I made this image for those interested in the process (so I don't have to repeat it all over) was this text:

The moon set was well after sunrise, which resulted in it being slightly muted. This also provided enough light to illuminate the birds, as well as freeze their motion without panning. Panning with the birds and freezing the moon may have also been possible, but would not give me enough focus control to ensure everything remained in focus and it would have also proved difficult to control the composition.

I locked the composition on the tripod, without a bird in the frame, and manually focused on the foreground. Not having my hyper focal distance chart with me, I used the DOF preview button to ensure that the moon would be in focus, while keeping a reasonable working distance for a bird to fly into the frame. I knew my working area, and would not shoot if a bird flew outside of that. Since the wind was calm most of the birds were taking off, and flying, well below the distant mountains. Moving further away from the take-off location gave me a better chance of getting a bird above the mountains. Each time a bird, or birds, would fly into the viewfinder I would hold down the shutter button and let it rip (thanks to digital). Never being sure of the optimal wing-position of the subject, I used my 1D, instead of my 10D, because I knew the 8FPS and the reduced shutter lag would give me a much better chance at getting what I wanted.

Comments welcomed!

EOS 1D, EF 7-200/2.8 IS @ 200mm, 1/1250 @ f8, ISO 250.
Greg Downing
Publisher, NatureScapes.Net
[url=http://www.gdphotography.com/]Visit my website for images, workshops and newsletters![/url]


Last edited by Greg Downing on Sun Mar 14, 2004 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by Bill Whala on Sun Mar 14, 2004 2:10 pm
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Perfect timing!!! Full moon is a huge bonus. :D
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by Sandy Mossberg on Sun Mar 14, 2004 2:11 pm
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Gorgeous shot, Greg. If I could wish for one change it would be less sky between the geese and the mountains.
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by Greg Downing on Sun Mar 14, 2004 2:14 pm
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I should have stated my reservations about the image! :oops:

Not enough foreground and too much sky resulting in a somewhat un-balanced composition. And the birds are not ideally positioned, one has a shadow on top....Of course I was at the mercy of what was presented to me. The image I linked to is my favorite but I thought I would throw this out for comparison.

Thanks for looking. :)
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by Colin Inman on Sun Mar 14, 2004 4:08 pm
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Sandy Mossberg wrote:Gorgeous shot, Greg. If I could wish for one change it would be less sky between the geese and the mountains.
Hmmm Geese would work just as well I suppose.

This image shows great vision.
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by judylynn on Sun Mar 14, 2004 4:52 pm
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Absolutely a stunning shot. Fabulous timing.
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by Alan Murphy on Sun Mar 14, 2004 5:05 pm
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Great shot Greg. Well thought out.
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by Wayne Ellis on Sun Mar 14, 2004 7:30 pm
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Greg,

Great use of your inner vision and powerful technology. Excellent m8t.
Comments and reposts welcome

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by Noel on Sun Mar 14, 2004 7:59 pm
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Nice at f/8! The birds are very sharp; the mountains look great, and the moon is a bonus.

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by Jim Zipp on Sun Mar 14, 2004 8:00 pm
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Nice work Greg!
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by AForns on Sun Mar 14, 2004 9:13 pm
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Nicely done can’t add any more Congratulations
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by Juli Wilcox on Sun Mar 14, 2004 10:43 pm
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I actually like the composition and think it would be great much larger so the perspective and relationship of the elements (birds, moon, land) could be appreciated from a distance.
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by jnadler on Mon Mar 15, 2004 8:04 am
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Greg:

Nicely done and agree with comment on the amount of sky. I was pondering if you also captured this in horizontal format. Not necessarily better but might have a totally different look.
 

by Tom Bentley on Mon Mar 15, 2004 10:41 am
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Great job.
[b]Comments welcomed!!



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by LindaY on Mon Mar 15, 2004 7:07 pm
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This is absolutely gorgeous, IMHO, Greg. I bet this looks stunning as a large format print.
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