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Sand Hill Crane
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Sand Hill Crane

by Patrick O'Healy

Gallery: AvianPosted December 7, 2013328 views21 comments
Taken December 4, 2013 at Bosque Del Apache, New Mexico while at the Keith Bauer workshop. We arrived at the Crane pools outside the Reserve, and the wind was blowing the wrong way to get good takeoff shots. After the bulk of the Cranes had flown, three were left. This male suddenly began spinning and flapping his wings for the female nearby in an overt mating ritual.

Nikon D-4 Nikkor 600mm 1/1600 f/9 ISO320 white balance auto Tripod with Wimberley Gimbal Processed in CS6, NIK and Lightroom. Cropped slightly.

Comments welcome

Comments

21 comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on December 7, 2013 at 6:59 PM
Sweet, Patrick. Beautiful light and pose. I love that head turn.

:toast:
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Ralph Kerr on December 7, 2013 at 7:56 PM
Nice exposure, open wings and head turn, and catching him off the ground. Congrats on this one.
Registered on January 30, 2007, 369 Posts, 852 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on December 7, 2013 at 8:00 PM
Fantastic light and a great landing pose! Couldn't be done better!
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Mike Ramy on December 7, 2013 at 9:06 PM
Patrick,
Looks to me like he is jumping for joy because he is having such an excellent picture being taken of him.
Well Done . . . :toast:
Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments
Comment posted by Tjie Poo on December 7, 2013 at 9:35 PM
Gorgeous ! I like the lighting and the bird's feet position that are barely touching the ground. Love it ! :toast:
Registered on December 4, 2012, 51 Posts, 511 Comments
Comment posted by Keith Bauer on December 7, 2013 at 9:53 PM
Patrick: Love the pose and the shot. Beautiful light on this crane. I remember this scene very well. It was a really cool behavior to see. It was great having you on the workshop. Looking forward to seeing more of the images you captured :toast:
Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Jenkins on December 7, 2013 at 10:08 PM
very nice and different pose with great light and detail. Nice photo Patrick
Registered on April 20, 2008, 307 Posts, 604 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Leggett on December 7, 2013 at 11:59 PM
Great timing and posture, Patrick. The head turn adds lots of interest.
Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments
Comment posted by John Neukirch on December 8, 2013 at 7:26 AM
An awesome capture in that famous Bosque morning light. It was a pleasure to meet you Patrick at the workshop and I look forward to seeing more great images from the week. :toast:
Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Archer on December 8, 2013 at 8:14 AM
A wonderful action photo in great light Patrick :cool: Love this action pose and the sharp detail in the crane.

Sweet One!!!
Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 8, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Have been waiting for your crane images! This is an exceptional pose with the wing position and feet off the ground - great detail, colours, and BG too. Couldn't be better!
A++!
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Jefferson Silva on December 8, 2013 at 1:54 PM
Amazing, Patrick.
The light is beautiful.
You've captured a nice moment, with great details. :smile:
Registered on December 18, 2012, 162 Posts, 975 Comments
Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on December 9, 2013 at 9:34 PM
Beautiful Patrick. Looks like you're getting the hang of things. (Pun intended) :smile: :toast:
Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments
Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on December 9, 2013 at 9:59 PM
Charlie,
I think you have observed that my thumb is no longer in front of the lens. :toast:
Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments
Comment posted by May Haga on December 10, 2013 at 8:29 PM
Love this image Patrick. The pose is outstanding.
May
Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 12, 2013 at 12:39 AM
BIG congrats on the Avian WP - a very difficult feat!
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Watkins on December 12, 2013 at 4:14 AM
Patrick,
Sorry I missed this earlier, what a remarkable image this is, You captured the "moment" perfectly :toast: :toast: :toast:
Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Marsh on December 12, 2013 at 8:05 AM
Outstanding image Patrick. The lighting, detail in the feathers, bg, and pose are all excellent. Congrats on the weekly pic. Well done! Bill
:toast:
Registered on December 29, 2012, 21 Posts, 225 Comments
Comment posted by Charles Gangas on December 14, 2013 at 8:40 AM
Terrific Image Patrick, congrats on the WP! :toast:
Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on January 1, 2014 at 7:00 PM
Hi Patrick :wavey: You captured the perfect moment, and with sublime light and color! ! congrats on a well deserved WP :toast: :toast: :toast:
Albert Darmo
Canada
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by Lucy Aron on January 24, 2014 at 7:27 PM
Fabulous shot. Perhaps only wish would be a little brighter.
Registered on February 25, 2011, 189 Posts, 1160 Comments