Sandhill Crane Migration
Every January and February the sandhill crane's head north through Kentucky in their mass migration. This particular day there were thousands of these larg...
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Every January and February the sandhill crane's head north through Kentucky in their mass migration. This particular day there were thousands of these large, beautiful birds.
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Mar, 2017Views
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Magnificent Capture
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo on a cool Saturday in January 2018. I went to Cecilia, Kentucky to catch the Sandhill Crane migration. When I arrived, there were not too many there, but as the afternoon wore on and it got into early evening they came by the thousands. I was standing in the middle of corn field when they began to surround me on all sides, landing to feed before heading off to roost. As I moved these large, beautiful birds would fly off in all directions and I was only a few yards from them.Time
I arrived here at about noon, having driven from Lexington, KY to see them (about 90 miles away). This photo was taken around 4 PM and I continued until a magnificent sunset rich in oranges and purples surrounded me.Lighting
I used natural light for this one.Equipment
I was using a Nikon D5200 with a 70-300mm Nikor AF Zoom Lens. No tripod as I followed the birds all around me, taking dozens of shots in minutes.Inspiration
Ultimately, my goal was to get photos of these magnificent birds up close as well as I could. They were migrating south and would only be here for a few days as they moved onto southern Kentucky, Tennessee or Georgia.Editing
The only post processing I used was cropping on this shot.In my camera bag
I don't really carry a photo bag. My camera is ALWAYS in the car with me. I carry extra batteries, a photo transfer cable to clear the card. About 95% of my photos are taken with the same 70-300mm zoom lens.Feedback
Biggest advice from me in getting good bird shots... First, understand their character -- migrating habits, feeding habits,etc. Second, be patient. My REAL philosophy is THREE FOLD: 1. You gotta be there; 2. You gotta be lucky; and 3. You gotta take loads of photos and hope that one or two of them comes out the way you had hoped.
