Posts in Category: New Mexico
Dancing Cranes
We were out at the “Crane” ponds along Rt 1 north of the visitor center at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (Socorro, New Mexico, USA) to catch the Sandhill Cranes flying in to their night roost in the shallow water. The sun had already set, 15 minutes before, and the high desert river valley New Mexico dark was descending fast. We were already in ISO 6400 territory and shutter speeds too slow for comfort for the active birds. But when these two cranes decided to have a go at each other right in front of me, of course I swung the camera around and got off a burst. This ritualized combat, or dance, is part of the mating ritual and, though Sandhill Cranes mate for life, and only breed once a year, the courting goes on all year long. You are likely to see this happening somewhere in the flock any time of day. The trick is be looking at the right birds at the right moment, as the whole interaction only lasts, at least outside mating season, a few seconds. Since the colors were not strong this late in the day, I decided to process this image as a black-and-white. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Polarr.
Synchronized flight: Sandhill Cranes
Once in a great while you catch two Sandhill Cranes who are flying together in almost perfect synchronization, wing beat for wing beat. These two are at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in Socorro, New Mexico (USA). Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. (From a technical standpoint this is an interesting photo because it shows off the amazing tracking auto focus of the new 2.0 firmware on the Rx10iv.)
Geese against the rainbow
Sometimes it is hard to believe how very blessed we are when we go out in search of nature’s wonders. We were out early to catch the Sandhill Cranes as they rosed from the pond where they spent the night in shallow water, and in hopes that the Snow Geese would come in to the pond to stage for the day, as they often do. The sun had only a small gap between the mountains to the east and the cap of cloud that promised rain for most of the day, and as it bridged the gap to magic things happened at the same time. The geese arrived, winging in in flocks of 20 to 100, circling the pond several times before settling, and a rainbow sprung up off to the north, up the valley. Of course I had to try to catch the geese as they passed in front of the rainbow. Again, how blessed! Sony Rx10iv at 175mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. And here is landscape view.
Cranes in the dawn
The Sandhill Cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, USA spend the night standing in shallow water to protect themselves from predators as they sleep. They wake before the sun comes up and just as it does, they rise and move off to fields where they feed during the day. Generally they leave in groups of 3, a family unit, but sometimes several families will decide to fly out at the same time. Dawn light on the mountains to the west of the Refuge and on the Cranes can make for some spectacular sights…though the light levels are a challenge for any camera. This shot is at ISO 6400 on the Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Sandhill Cranes confrontation
The other action shot you look for at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in November is Sandhill Cranes confronting each other. It is part of the mating ritual and goes on all year long. If you watch a large group of cranes you will see it happen every 60 seconds somewhere in the group…somewhere…and that is the difficult part for the photographer. You scan the flock and hope the confrontation will last more than a few seconds…most only last that long…so you can get your camera on it. Patience and persistence sometimes win out. This these two birds are young…this year’s colts…so they are not really serious about it…just practicing for next spring’s mating. Still, they are getting lots of air already. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Sandhill Crane in Flight!
Wildlife photography is all about being the right place at the right time and ready. We stopped for the first big group of Sandhill Cranes along the Tour Loop at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, in Socorro New Mexico, late in the afternoon on the north loop where they are knocking down corn for the Cranes and Snow Geese to feed. After about 10 minutes I noticed that there was a lot more action, especially birds in flight, at the south end of the field and we moved the car and ourselves down the road several hundred yards. The Cranes would come up out of the field and fly close across a hedgerow stand of Cottonwoods on their way to another group of Cranes at the end of the field two fields down. I was at the right place at the right time. I set the Sony Rx10iv in Program with my custom birds in flight modifications: center tracking auto focus, continuous focus, minimum shutter speed Auto ISO pegged at 2000th of a second, low speed continuous shooting (3.5 fps), and exposure linked to the focus point. So I was ready, or as ready as I could be. And the Cranes put on their show. I, and the camera, did not nail every shot, but I got many keepers over the next 30 minutes. The simple subtle grays and delicate feather details of the Cranes against the jumble of fall cottonwoods…and in great light. What more could you ask? Right place, right time, and ready!
Red-wings murmuration
When I saw this flock of birds murmurating (which is what that swirling motion of a flock of birds is called…it is a murmuration of birds) I assumed they were Starlings, or at least mostly Starlings with a few Brewer’s and Red-winged Blackbirds mixed in. Starlings are the famous murmuraters. However, when I got the image up on my iPad’s larger screen and zoomed in, I realized that they were all Red-winged Blackbirds, males and females. That makes the image just that much more interesting to me. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Sandhill Crane
Many of my photos from Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico were taken within an hour of dawn or sunset. That is when the birds are most active, leaving their night roosts or returning to them. This Sandhill Crane was taking off a half hour after dawn to go out to the corn fields at the north end of the refuge to spend the day feeding. The low golden light picks out every detail. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds-in-flight and action modifications of Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Snow Geese staging at dawn
At dawn at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, the Snow Geese gather in huge flocks before rising in mass with sun to move out to the fields where they feed for the day. If you are in the right place, in this case, the Flight Deck Pond, you can see them come into the pond to join the flock, and then watch them lift off as the sun rises. I took my Point and Shoot Nature Photography class out in temperatures well below freezing to be there for the whole show. Here the Snow Geese are coming in just ahead of sunrise. Sony RX10iv in Anti-motion Blur mode. 3 shots at 1/250th and the equivalent of ISO 1000 at around 50mm equivalent. Processed in Polarr.
Cliffrose
I got caught up in photographing the dried flowers and seed heads along the Canyon Trail at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico last week. For one thing I was testing the Macro Mode on my RX10iv, which I had just happened on while teaching a Point and Shoot Nature Photography class the day before. My theory is that if there is a specially designed mode for a particular situation, we owe it to ourselves as Point and Shoot photographers to see if it works. No point in doing it the hard way, if there is an easier way that gets the same results. This is the seed-head of Cliffrose, which grows on dry hillsides all through New Mexico. It is also called, locally, Navajo Diaper. I always assumed, when I lived in New Mexico, that the Navajo somehow used the feathery seed-heads to line their cradle boards, but a bit of research this morning informed me that it is the shredded bark of the plant that they use, and that they weave it into a mat. Still, I have always loved the feathery delicacy of the seed-heads, and the beauty is, I think, particularly visible in this image. Sony RX10iv in Macro mode at 600mm equivalent. Processed in Polarr.