4th annual crane safari - spectacular sunsets!

I've been traveling out to Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska each spring for 4 years to see the sandhill cranes. This year I spent 2 nights in the photo blind, going solo for one night. I was concerned that the unusually warm weather would mean fewer cranes, but even though it was past the peak, there were still plenty of cranes around.

For the first time, I had sun both days, so the sunsets were really great. It was really fun to play with the constantly changing light. The challenge is to be creative and get something interesting in each shot. Otherwise it's just the same bunch of cranes over and over.

I took 2 cameras - the 40D with the 100-400, and the 1D Mk III with the 500. Here are a few results.

First night in the blind:

Those are pretty spectacular! I love the last one with the synchronized "Walking on Water" look.

Superb sunsets, thank you.

Thanks for looking and commenting. I think the last shot is one of my favorites from the trip. I had just put the 1.4x TC on the 500mm and was going to get some closeups of the cranes right in front of the blind, when these two decided to take off. After that, I put my camera away and had to wait for another hour or so before being let out of the blind at about 10:30 am. I had been in there since 4:00 the previous afternoon.

Well, that is one of the best sets of Sandhills I have ever seen.

Thanks for the nice compliment!

The funny thing is, the second night in the blind, I was alone, and discovered that the blind was full of termites. I was constantly killing them. In the past when I've been there, it's been more like winter camping conditions, and bugs were never an issue. But this year was exceptionally warm (in the 80's.) Eventually I had to put that out of my mind and focus on the cranes. However, I did have to sleep in there with all those bugs!

Excellent set Liz, Well done!

Excellent work,wow!

Gorgeous Shots!

Wow! Amazing series. Must be quite an adventure. That must be a long night in the blind.

Thanks! The time actually goes by pretty quickly. First there's getting settled in, then waiting for the cranes to arrive. After that, it's non-stop photography until after the sun goes down. Once it's completely dark, there's nothing else to do but go to bed. Because the cranes are so close, we have to be very quiet, and can only use red flashlights. Then it's up early, well before sunrise, to put away sleeping bags and get camera gear out. Another few hours of photography. The boring part is after the majority of cranes are gone, and just waiting for the last few to leave. They have to ALL be gone before we can come out. Sometimes it can take a few hours of waiting.

Great series of images here...love them all.. and I can't imagine that many Cranes in one area. What a great experience you had ...

Thanks, it is pretty amazing. This is the 4th year I've gone, and it's always such an incredible thing to see. Really hard to capture the magnitude of it in photos. I think even people who aren't there for photography would really appreciate it. There are large group blinds also for dawn/dusk only viewing, and that's where most people go. But you aren't nearly as close to the cranes, and of course spending the night there, right on the river with them, is a whole different experience.

Here's a short video that I took from the blind, it gives an idea of the noise level!

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Looks like a great experience

Really great set Liz.