Sandhill Cranes in Indiana
Made a trip home to north eastern Indiana recently to visit family. It was later in the year than we usually go so wasn’t sure what to expect from a wildlife photography perspective. Was pleasantly surprised with the abundance of Sandhill Cranes that were near Mongo, IN. Went out several mornings at sunrise to find them. It was down to 37 deg F in the mornings, which felt great. Such a nice change from the Houston heat.
This was my first trip home with my 500mm lens. Had to drag it around the week before while on a business trip before heading to Indiana. It was worth the effort as I needed the extra reach with most of the shots. Didn’t have room in my suitcase for my tripod so had to handhold it.
Got a little too up close and personal with the Sandhill’s as I almost hit three of them with my car. More on that later…
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens, handheld
1/20 sec @ F4, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
1/125 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering
Tim Timmis Photography 
Tim, when you photo flying birds, what proportion of the shot do the birds take up? I have found it more difficult to photo birds when they take up too big a proportion of the shot (with a 500mm lens) and easier with a 70-200. Any comment?
best wishes
Rick Hogben
hogben@mweb.co.za
October 8, 2013 at 6:27 am
What a great background for the flight shot. The sandhill cranes are visiting my part of the world and I thoroughly enjoy watching them.
October 8, 2013 at 1:58 pm
Thanks Lyle. The leaves were just starting to show some color so I’m sure that they are in full color by now. I don’t see much color in the Houston area so it’s good to get out of Dodge every once in awhile. I love to watch and listen to Sandhill’s. I’m hoping to see lots of them in Nebraska in the spring.
October 10, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Hi Rick, it really depends on how close the birds are. It can get challenging to keep them in the frame when the birds are really close. I usually use center point focus for BIF but will switch to all points when they are up close. It can be a good thing when they are that close as most of the time they are too far away it seems like.
October 10, 2013 at 4:57 pm