Friday, February 10, 2012

Sandhill Crane Art

Today's post is a strange one.  I used a new lense on my camera and I noticed on several of the shots that they weren't clear but that there was an image I liked.  It was almost impressionistic(like the camera or pic is out of focus) and yet the images are strong.  Here are my attempts at taking these pics and making them better......
This is our last stop with the Sandhill Cranes of Southern Arizona at the Whitewater Draw near Willcox.
There were so many birds.....
.....and this above shot is one of my favorites.
Imagine a sky covered with birds.....
.....as they all descend.
It starts with 2 cranes and then.....
It seems like they all descend from out of nowhere at once!
Exciting stuff! More tomorrow...

24 comments:

  1. Próby udane i zdjęcia ptaków wspaniałe. Zdjęcie z dużą ilością ptaków na niebie - śliczne. Pozdrawiam. *** Attempts to successful and wonderful pictures of birds. Photo of a large number of birds in the sky - beautiful. Yours.

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  2. Wow, cool shots of the cranes. I would love to see these large flocks someday. a great sighting.

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  3. Impressive birds Chris - what a great spectacle they provide. I really love the last shot. Its fun experimenting with different camera effects :D

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  4. Your photos here remind me of paintings. The sudden movements of those birds is truly incredible!

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    1. David, I feel right now like I've jumped ship on the gardening. But I want you to know that I haven't given up on my landscaping, wildflowers, cacti or any of that stuff. In fact, in March you'll see more from our garden. It's just right now there isn't much going on as everything is in hibernation. But I did some shoots for you on wildflowers with cactus in Tucson. I feel guilty for not posting any plant stuff. It's coming...I promise. Right now the birding has been pretty exciting around here. But I've also been spending thousands of dollars around our property:) They just haven't been posted yet:) Have a good weekend. Chris

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  5. Excellent! It must be a powerful experience at the Draw; I need to get down there.

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    1. You won't regret it! It's absolutely incredible. They, en masse, are there until mid February.

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  6. Wow what fun! I had a high school biology teacher who quit to become a wildlife photographer. I went to one of his presentations a couple of years back and he talked about taking photos of geese during what he called "the blast off" - when they all took off at once. I would love to see something like that.

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  7. So exciting and beautiful. I LOVE that first shot!

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  8. What a wonderful gathering of Sandhill cranes. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos.
    ~:)

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  9. Wow---great pictures of the Sandhill Cranes... I have never seen that many birds in the same place before... I'd love to see what you saw!!! Awesome!

    My son see the Cranes (not as many though) near his home in Galveston, Texas.

    Have a great weekend.
    Betsy

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  10. A wildlife spectacular Rohrerbot, must have been a wonderful sight to see all those cranes in the air together :-)

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  11. So many Sandhill Cranes must be tremendous to see. especially as I think they are currently endangered?

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    1. In a few states, they are considered endangered but I think here in Arizona, they are listed, as most states, as "Least Concern". Which is a good thing. Have a good weekend!

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  12. Brilliant Cranes photos, I can't wait until the next time Chris.

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  13. All these shots are all very nice, each in their own way, and i particularly like the colours, the harmony is perfect.

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  14. What beautiful birds and photos! That does look like an amazing experience.

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  15. Wow, so many cranes! I think I know how you were excited taking pictures of them, Chris. I haven’t captured birds in the air so nicely like you.

    Thanks for your visit and a lovely comment. I’m glad to read you’ve joined my blog, but somehow I don’t see your icon on the list and I wonder why or if this is a blogger problem. I’ll join this blog and look forward to your posts, too.

    Yoko

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  16. The balance of the elements in your third pic is very well achieved. I love the steps in the layers... Image stabilization is always hard to achieve with a long lens.
    Try to avoid tilting the horizon line if I may say.

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    1. You may say:) And I thank you for suggestion. I've never used that lense before and it was tricky. And!! excellent eye on the shots. I had been tilting the camera and I have to keep the darn thing straight. That is a great lense but it is a bit more difficult to use. And it can't be used for everything....just here and there, but it's nice to have when you need it. That image you took yesterday going to the bread shop in snow is still in my mind. I think that represents happiness in a nut shell. All my best. Chris:)

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  17. A few years ago one of these birds was tagging along with a flock of Canada geese in the field behind my parents house. They live with in sight of the Atlantic on the Delmarva Peninsula, not a place Sandhills are known to go. We took photos and contacted the Virginia Ornithological Soc., who did not readily believe us. This past Christmas I saw a small flock of 5-6 gleaning what they can from the harvested corn fields. This could be the start of a new range.

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Thanks for stopping by!