Flight

A spectacular sight to witness and experience. A single photograph

without sound and motion doesn't do it justice, but I hope this gives a hint.

Comments and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks.

Stephen - a spectacular shot indeed - being there must have been quite something - the photo does a good job of capturing the moment - lovely tones

Terrific, where was this taken Stephen?

Lalit, this is at Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge in central New Mexico.  I've been here a week, and this scene is repeated somewhere on the refuge every morning and every evening.  The trick is knowing where to be.  I was at the right place, but now wish I had used a 300mm lens instead of 400mm.   This will be my excuse to get a second camera body.

Phenomenal moment and excellent realization. Best regards.

It is a great capture, especially the movement of birds and the color of the sky.

Magnificent picture! I love the layers of birds, the warm colors of the earth and the sky full of wings...

Evgeni, Bobby, and Valentina, thanks for the comments.  I spent a week at this refuge, and this is my personal favorite.  I missed two photos that would have challenged this:  a diagonal line of snow geese (about 8 or so) flying across the face of a nearly full moon, and a wide angle (24mm) shot of several thousand snow geese flying in a huge, swirling mass about 40 feet above my head (so close I could feel the wind from their wings).  Maybe next time.

Ahh, I see you've discovered the BDANWR.  I lived in Socorro, NM for several years (attended the NMIMT) and used to love my trips into the refuge.  Hopefully you stopped and had a green chile cheese burger at the Owl Bar & Cafe (in San Antonio, just north of the refuge).  Beautiful photograph, and thanks for reminding of the memories I acquired at the Bosque!  Cheers!  Chris

wowwwwwwwwwwww! ELEGANT!  very beautiful Stephen, best regards. Nima

Chris and Nima, thanks for stopping by.  Chris, I drove through the grounds of the university looking for a place to park my camper for the night when I first arrived, but ended up over by a city park.  I heard about the food at the Owl Bar & Cafe, as well as that of a competitor across the street, but unfortunately didn't stop.  That will be one more reason to go back.

Steve, I love shots like this. It must be a wonderful sight. My inclination with this image would be to crop the water section out. I think that this gives a better tonal flow. The water is too strong and distracts from the main game.

Jeff, that's an alternative I hadn't considered.  I actually wanted more f the water; this is all my 400mm lens could show.  The next day I was at the same place with a 300mm lens, but the birds didn't cooperate.  Maybe this is a case where it's either more or nothing, which is a comment I frequently make when only small slices of an element have been included in a photo.

I can only imagine the noise and atmosphere, and of course your photograph goes a long way to express it. I love the multi layers of colours and textures. The crop that Jeff suggested is an interesting one, I experimented viewing it by just scrolling down the page and it does have some merit. But I'm more inclined to agree with your suggestion of more water and foreground birds, as I believe it would give the image a strong anchor point and better sense of scale.

Very well done!

Best Regards

Alf

very beautiful shot from movement of the birds . i think it could be better if you used not such a long telezoom lens (400mm) . if you could use a little wider lens (200mm) then you had more of this beautiful foreground full of birds and water in contrasting with trees in midground and beautiful sky full of flying birds in background. what do you think ??!

best regards <<<amir49>>> 

I agree Steve, more or nothing. both would work.

An exceptional moment, excellently captured, Stephen. Innovative composition which triggers a lot of thoughts regarding nature, nature's power and vulnerability as well. Reminds me a bit on the long distance journey of the Monarch butterfly.

Bw, Volker