Cropping Decisions

[Ray]

Just today I was out photographing some Poinciana trees which happen to be in full bloom here in Australia (special request from a European visitor), when I came across an interesting bird perched on some interesting branches.

I wish I'd had a long Nikkor telephoto lens with me, but the longest lens I had was the Nikkor 24-120/F4.

Since you people are so expert in offering helpful suggestions, perhaps you'd care to tell me which of the following crops you prefer, or even suggest different crops.

I've included the full, uncropped image, and crops 1 & 2. My own preference is for Crop_2, even though I lose the nice cloud.

[opgr]

Nr. 1 with a bit more below the cloud.

Then I definitely would remove the tiny cloud to the left, and would contemplate removing the top branch. Or is that distorting reality too much?

[RSL]

Hi Ray, I'd certainly put the Anhinga close to a third of the way in and down from the upper left, and I'd preserve the ground. Like this:

[ErikKaffehr]

Ray,

My preference would be crop 2, the tighter one.

Best regards
Erik

[stamper]

I agree number 2 looks good. Also Russ's idea has merit. 

[Ray]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I think Oscar's version showing more space under the cloud is an improvement on my Crop_1, although I'm still favouring Crop_2.

Russ' version is also an improvement on the full image, but I'm not happy about the sharpness of the foreground at the base. The shot was taken at F4. I should have raised ISO and taken another shot at F8. Next time I encounter a similar situation, I'll do that.

I guess when I took the shot, I had in mind I would crop it because my focal length was only 120mm, but I did have sufficient memory on the card and I did have the time to take a number of shots at different apertures and ISOs from the closest position I could get.

The other shots I took are either from a greater distance at F5.6, or the same distance at F4. I guess I blew it in that respect. Live and learn. 

[stamper]

I wouldn't bother about the sharpness of the hills but perhaps some smart sharpening on the leaves may help?

[RSL]

I agree with Stamper. I don't think the sharpness of the ground is important. The picture's about the anhinga, but for the picture to be anything more than a casual snapshot with a bird in the middle of the frame there needs to be some surrounding geometry to place the bird.

[Ray]

I agree with Stamper. I don't think the sharpness of the ground is important. The picture's about the anhinga, but for the picture to be anything more than a casual snapshot with a bird in the middle of the frame there needs to be some surrounding geometry to place the bird.

Russ,
I see what you mean. However, what I find interesting in my Crop-2 version are the  branches surrounding the Anhinga (we call it Darter or Snake Bird in Australia) which seem to complement or mimic the shape and form of the bird, particularly the way its long neck is as bent as some of the branches.

I also like the greater simplicity of Crop_2, just bare branches and branch-like bird set against a uniform blue sky.

I'm not sure I like the fuzzy foreground in your suggestion. Out-of-focus backgrounds are fine, but I find that OoF foregrounds can be a bit distracting. Nevertheless, I'll make prints of both versions and see what others think, just as an exercise.

Attached is a crop of the bottom right foliage to give you a clearer idea of how fuzzy it is.