Who Knew Sandhill Cranes Could Swim?

[suenewbie]

Photography is educational! I'm relatively new to Florida and didn't have Sandhill Cranes where I came from, so I'm learning about them as I photograph them. Our neighborhood has a pair of "resident" Sandhill's who have babies every mating season. They just started bringing this season's babies out for walks through our neighborhood. A stray cat tried to get to the babies today and the parents separated the babies (one baby with each parent, going in different directions). Smart! The strategy (thankfully) worked and they soon reunited at our pond. Much to my surprise, they all swam across! I'd never have guessed that these guys with their long skinny legs and feet could swim!

Photographically speaking, I was in Aperture mode and I think I should have bumped up my ISO (which was set at 400 on a cloudy day) so that my shutter speed would have been higher (it was between 1/400 - 1/800). At least I think that's what caused these to be less than "tack sharp." However, when zooming in to 100%, the photos also look grainy to me. Any suggestions on how I could have avoided that? Is that a function of poor focus? My focal length was at 125-130mm - could that cause the graininess?

#1 - Meeting Up at the Pond:

005-Cranes & BabiesDSC_1890_040 ADJ by smolnar18, on Flickr

#2 - I Thought They Were Just Going to Wade at the Edge!:

002-Cranes & BabiesDSC_1897_047 ADJ by smolnar18, on Flickr

#3 - Getting His Feet Wet:

015-Cranes & BabiesDSC_1917_067 ADJ2 by smolnar18, on Flickr

#4 - They Swim!!:

021-Cranes & BabiesDSC_1926_076 ADJ3 by smolnar18, on Flickr

#5 - Reaching the Other Side:

026-Cranes & BabiesDSC_1941_091 by smolnar18, on Flickr

For anyone who wants to see more shots of these adorable baby cranes, they're on Flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smolnar...7640699917663/

[Saorsa]

I can't see the exif from the image here. What were your shutter speed, aperture and ISO?

[suenewbie]

See my second paragraph. ISO was 400 (I decided when viewing the images on my computer, it should have been higher to allow a faster shutter). Shutter was between 1/400 - 1/800, aperture was f/8, focal length between 125-130mm. Spot metering, Focus Mode AF-S.

[Stagecoach]

Sue,

I have had a look at No 1 and No 3 and they both look pretty sharp to me. Admittedly they need some PP work and can be much improved easily but I can not see any graininess/noise problems.

Grahame

[Bobobird]

A set of very nice shots.

[bnnrcn]

I like your shots,#3 and #4 is too shiny because I think you have shot against light

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[John 2]

Interesting set of images.

[klovibond]

Nice series Sue, I never knew Grey Herons swam until I caught this last November!

Grey Heron, never seen one swim before!! by klovibond, on Flickr

[Wavelength]

An exquisite set of images.....

[suenewbie]

I like your shots,#3 and #4 is too shiny because I think you have shot against light

Anybody have suggestions for avoiding this "too shiny" problem? I could not go to a different vantage point at this particular time, but are there settings changes that would have helped?

Thanks!

[Saorsa]

Well, you could crop it out. Another alternative would be a circular polarizing filter.

[suenewbie]

Nice series Sue, I never knew Grey Herons swam until I caught this last November!

Beautiful shot, Kevin, and I didn't know Herons swam either!

I looked at your other images from the same time period on Flickr, and they, too, are so beautifully crisp in focus (as well as beautiful shots). I see you mostly used a relatively low shutter speed (even for the BIF shots), as well as using f/4. I've been advised to use f/8 and much faster shutter speeds (1/1000+) for BIF, but my images are not nearly as sharp as yours.

Since I'm trying to improve the sharpness of my images, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Of course, maybe it's just better glass?

Thanks,
Susan

[Downrigger]

Fun to learn, and with nice images! Nice series of the cranes. I suspect Cranes and Herons are amused and surprised as well when they see humans wade in an paddle around.

[klovibond]

I've PM'd you Sue