On the Road Again « Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

On the Road Again

What’s Up?

The Sunday morning forecast was way off the mark. Rather than clear and sunny with increasing SW winds as predicted, it turned out to be bright overcast and with a gentle wind from the east. It would have been a perfect morning for setting up my vulture feeder … Instead, I spent some more time with Old Gnarly, its mate, and their single surviving small colt. I did botch one really good chance … And with two more bathing Ospreys.

The forecast for this today — Monday 20 APR 2020 — is for mostly cloudy skies with SW winds at 11mph in the morning deteriorating to rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon with winds to 24. It might be a tough afternoon for a swim. I will likely be making one trip to the lake to do some recreational hunting with my SONY gear.

In yesterday’s A Rare Submission … blog post here, only a single person commented on the Magellanic Penguin images. And there were no questions about the business of selling bird photographs. It was almost as if the e-mail notice of publication did not send … If you have a chance to visit or re-visit, please do so. It would be greatly appreciated.

On Sunday, I sent the final draft of the SONY eGuide to Patrick Sparkman for his final review. If you already own the guide and would like an opportunity to review it, please send me an e-mail by clicking here. I should be publishing it this week. Please write only if you have time to review the document in the next day or two. All 47 folks who currently have the guide will receive a link for the final-final version in about a week.

Today’s Entertainment

Willie Nelson/On The Road Again

Follow this link to see a great live version at the Grand Ole Opry.

Or for a full hour of great country music, check out the The Highwaymen On The Road Again Concert here. Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings each have a distinctive sound that blends beautifully as The Highwaymen.

This image was created on the morning of 9 APR 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 2500. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/500 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode; I went for sone Zebras on the adult’s white neck patches and lots of Zebras on visible sections of the sky. AWB at 7:53am on an overcast morning.

Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed superbly.

Image #1: Sandhill Crane colt family On the Road Again

The Situation

I had long suspected that the crane colt family of four swam most days back and forth across the canal from the south end of the South Peninsula to the south end of the South Field because the walk around would be close to two miles. (My bad — I just realized that I likely have been mixing up north and south when writing about this crane family for the past few weeks …) They swim east in the morning most days and then west in the afternoons.

The first time I saw them swimming was on a sunny afternoon. I drove up and saw the whole family in the water four abreast and swimming with purpose. I missed that shot but managed a few frames. None were very good. I have never seen them cross back in the afternoon but have had many chances when they swim to the South Field in the mornings. Even on days when my timing has been perfect, I have not gotten anything really excellent. At some point, I will share a bunch of my best swimming crane photos here on the blog.

In the soft light on the morning of 9 APR I was a bit late getting to the South Field spur road. When I saw the birds walking down the road four abreast I jumped out of my SUV and framing carefully, created four images before they broke formation and began to forage.

This image was created on the morning of 9 APR 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 2500. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/500 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode; I went for sone Zebras on the adult’s white neck patches and lots of Zebras on visible sections of the sky. AWB at 7:53am on an overcast morning.

Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed superbly.

Image #2: Sandhill Crane colt family On the Road Again pano

The Pano Crop

I decided to create a pano from the original image above. Since I wanted to create an image with no sky in the frame while at the same time leaving a decent amount of room above the bird’s heads, I had to fill in some of the sky in the upper left corner. That turned out to be a bit more difficult than I thought it would be. I wound up using two small Quick Masks refined with Regular Layer Masks.

Your Favorite?

Please take a moment to let us know if you prefer Image #1 — the 2X3 original, or Image #2 the pano crop. I have a great preference for one image over the other and will share that here at some point.

27 comments to On the Road Again

  • # 2 –simpler and more elegant.

    it’s good to be in touch again, Artie 🙂

  • No2 definitely — the background in No1 is dead space. In No 2 you have created a uniform background with good subject separation. The choice of a pano crop allowed the birds to sit alongside the parts of the bank that was also in focus, nice leading lines from bottom right to the mid frame.
    “Normally” I would have thought it would have been better if you had been able to shoot this from a much lower point of view – but these guys appear to be walking down a hill/path towards you and lowering the POV would probably have reintroduced the sky.

  • #1…For me, it’s about the necks. With the longer necks, even though
    there’s plenty of headroom in #2, for me, it just doesn’t fit as well
    in the frame as compared to #1.

    Doug

  • I like #1 because it more clearly shows that they are out hiking. #1 tells a story. The OOF background of trees shows distance that they have come. #2 is a little more static because of not showing distance behind them. Also, as others have said, the tree trunks frame the family.

  • avatar David Peake

    Its #1 for me too Artie. To me the full 2/3 image gives a better sense of place. There’s more story there.IMO.

  • avatar William Dix

    Pano for me. Takes away the distracting upper portion. And thanks for the Highwaymen link; love them all but Willie is the best.

  • avatar Perry Price

    I like #1 better because it is a better environmental family portrait. It show a family in their environment (the water in the far background, the greenery and trees in the near background, and greenery in the foreground. Foreground, the subject, and background are all in #1 will give this family a family portrait to cherish in their environment.

  • avatar Joyce Brant

    Definitely #2. In #1 your eye goes directly to the distracting white hot spots in the background instead of the subject which is the cranes.

  • avatar Ron Sprunger

    I like #1. To my eye, the background adds interest and balance to the image, partly due to the splashes of darker green.

  • avatar your sister

    I pick both you are amazing and your pictures put a smile on my face every morning

  • #2. The background in #1 is a distraction.

  • avatar Ted Willcox

    Waylon is the one with the “rugged good looks” (smile)

  • avatar Ted Willcox

    Image #2 is my favourite, keeps the interest on the family, the background distracts from this, the family.

  • avatar Peter Noyes

    Everyone is different, thank God. I like # 2 better because it accentuates the family. To me, the background in # 1 detracts from the family.

  • avatar Anthony Ardito

    I like #1, shows where the family came from.

  • #2 my eye goes directly to the sandhilll family
    ‘I just can’t wait to get on the road again’

  • avatar Richard Curtin

    Would vote for the pano. Concentrates your attention on the Cranes. The upper background on 1 doesn’t seem to add much. Very nice.

  • avatar Margaret

    Number 1. It is a beautiful, gentle image showing more of the environment. And, as Joe Randle comments, perfect self-distancing.

  • avatar Fred Innamorato

    I prefer #1 and agree with Mike that the trees frame them nicely. Great picture Artie. I love the eyes and the swagger of the Cranes. Perfect lead into the Highwaymen on the Road Again !!! Very clever. Which one is Waylon Jennings?

    And thanks for the link to The Highwaymen Concert. One of my favorite groups. What a cast of characters. Wish I could have seen them perform live.

  • avatar JEANCLAUDE EBRARD

    2is my pick.You eplain how you made the picture,thought and after thought.Thinking is not lacking.A picture is made with intention on a flat surface by a photographer.So is a painting by a painter.Who would ever think
    of writing “a nice image by Rembrant”?A mirror reflects the image of whoever
    or whatever is presented to it.A photo was called an image as it became digital id virtual (cf mirror) and the language became corrupted by computer lingo
    Thanks for your pictures Master photographer.
    jean claude jce.

  • avatar Joe Randle

    Good morning…
    I enjoy photo #1… the whites are good even on the colts… Perfect family self-distancing being practiced… Great job Mr Artie…

  • avatar Bob Allen

    #2 it is, more focus

  • avatar Mike

    I prefer #1, showing the birds with more of their environment. Also the trees nicely frame them.
    In #2, it was worth the effort filling in the sky, upper left.

    Mike

  • avatar Kathy Graff

    I prefer # 2, the pano.

    • avatar Kathy Graff

      I went back and looked at the two photos again. I’ve changed my mind to photo #1. Mostly for a reason others mentioned: the families are framed nicely by the trees and the sky but also because my eye locks onto the birds and then moves up into the trees/foliage and sky. They’re really two very different photographs and I think the first one gives me more information and a better sense of place.

  • avatar Marr Miller

    #2, the eye focuses on the family.

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