Sandhill Cranes before dawn. Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM

This is, to my eye, an “evocative” image…it evokes the experience of watching the Sandhill Cranes taking flight in the pre-dawn light at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge more than it “portrays” it. High ISO, low shutter speed, and a rapid pan with the birds in flight leads to an impressionistic background…water (including the two cranes standing) and landscape suggested rather than detailed…stripped down to a basic layering of color and texture. The relatively sharp cranes are laid over the background, but even they have a bit of the motion blur. Overall it looks more like a painting than a photograph. Generally I do not like that…but here, I think, it works. This would stand up to a fairly large print…and viewed from normal viewing distance, it would be quite striking on the wall. Evocative!

Nikon P900 at 400mm equivalent field of view. 1/60th @ ISO 560 @ f5. Processed and cropped slightly at the bottom for composition in Lightroom.