Sandhill Crane
Found this Sandhill Crane while exploring the back roads of NE Indiana. Was checking out my favorite Osprey nest when this Sandhill started squawking right behind me. Almost made me jump. Turned around but couldn’t see him with a high berm along the dirt road. Walked up an entrance into the field and saw him walking around very close to me. He was apparently calling a couple other cranes that were hanging out in the field near the osprey nest.
1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400 II with 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld
Nearly Head-on Crash with Sandhill Cranes
My goal is always to get up close and personal with wildlife but this encounter was a little too close for comfort.
While taking my usual early morning tour of the Indiana countryside while on vacation, I rounded a corner while looking off to the left in a large field to see if any Sandhills were waiting for me. No luck on the left but suddenly caught a glimpse of something coming quickly from my right and three Sandhill cranes were flying right in front of my car. I locked up the brakes on the dirt road and missed them by a couple of feet at most. My reflexes are apparently still in tact as I was able to quickly hit the brakes and grab my camera on the seat at the same time to keep it from crashing into the dashboard. My life didn’t flash before my eyes but what did was the thought of having to tell my dad that I wrecked his car after getting hit by some very large birds. Luckily, that didn’t happen.
They were hanging out in the ditch on the right side of the road and darted in front of me. Apparently the family truckster, aka SUV, wasn’t very intimidating as they landed just on the other side of the road to my left. Grabbed my camera and started shooting. They were too close at 700mm so ended up taking off the teleconverter after several close-up’s. They gradually walked further away and were the subjects for my previous silhouette post once the sun poked through the fog.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld out the car window.
1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, 700mm
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 