Don't forget to look up

[Michael Lloyd]

Bosque Crane Pools this morning with a 35mm lens.

When I'm shooting with long glass very often I'll take a second body with a 35mm lens with me. The Sandhill Cranes in this shot flared nearly directly overhead. The effect reminded me of a fireworks starburst shell.

1DMKIII manual
35mm f1.4L

ISO 400
1/80 @ f8

[Gus Cobos]

I like it Michael,
At the right place, at the right time...love that blue sky with the contrasting clouds...well done...:cool:

[Alfred Forns]

Good advice Michael !!! One of my favorite images from Bosque was made with a fisheye lens ... birds going just over my head after a blastoff !!!

[Michael Lloyd]

Thanks Gus and Alfred.

Unfortunately Bosque was more of a Poof than a Blastoff this year. I think it's just warm up in the breadbasket so they birds aren't down in appreciable numbers yet. I was shooting Swans and Ducks in Jackson, WY in 60° weather last week. We noticed that there were a lot of Sandhills in Sevilleta LTR on our way home. Things are a little funky at Bosque this year. The geese were often 150+ yards out at the north end. No corn there this year. Just alfalfa. The south end yielded better goose shots than the north end. The flight deck area was "weedy". The ducks loved it but the sandhills and geese were a good bit out. An 800mm lens was a nice thing to have. On the other hand we saw a lot of mule deer, some nice elk, pheasant, and a lot of coyote. One passed within 15' of the truck. When I first saw it I thought someone had let their dog run loose :D