The Sandhill Cranes drifted in to their night roost in small flocks of three to a dozen or so. Ryan, Chris and I were shooting with our longest telephotos, isolating single cranes in flight. Then as the light started to fade I switched to a wide angle lens to shoot video, panning as they glided in not far over our heads. An interesting cloud formation had formed so I also took a few images with the camera set to stills. I didn’t think much about the image on the back of my camera, but as often happens, it became a favorite once I viewed it on a larger computer screen. I like the juxtaposition of the crane small and centered in the frame against a symmetrical backdrop of softly lit clouds. The vignette was added in Aperture.

We were at New Mexico’s Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. It is a refuge for thousands of migrating Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers and dozens of other species including many birds of prey. There is no shortage of  subjects here! Mammals include Elk, Coyote, Mule Deer, Bobcat. It is a place I would like to return to someday.

Canon 7D, Sigma 10-20mm at 20mm, f8 at 1/350, ISO 250, handheld