Earlier this week I mounted my 150mm macro lens to my D300 and went out the Kensington Metropark to practice my close-up photography. Little did I know that the best pictures of the day would be wildlife shots.
Nikon D300, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 Macro, ISO 200, 1/500 @ f/5.6
As I entered the nature study area of
the park I noticed a fellow photographer pointing his camera at a spot down the
walkway that runs in front of the nature center building. As I rounded the corner I saw what was
interesting him. About 20-30 meters away
was a family of four Sandhill Cranes. I
had seen Sandhills in the swampy areas of the nature study area before, but
only at a distance. This was the first
time up-close.
First I cursed the fact that I had
brought only one lens, and then I started shooting. The lighting wasn’t particularly good but I
was getting a number of what I thought would be pretty good images.
Nikon D300, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 Macro, ISO 200, 1/500 @ f/5.6
We were being very quiet and stealthy in
an attempt to avoid scaring the beautiful birds away. All of a sudden we were in for a very nice surprise. All four of the cranes started walking right
toward us. They showed no fear as they
walked between us and headed to the other side of the center’s courtyard. At one point a crane was so close I would
have needed a wide angle lens to get the picture. The birds were not begging for food but simply
ignoring us as we snapped away.
Thanks to Debbie of Delicious Baby for
organizing Photo Friday and spreading such wonderful images across the Web.
© Tim Marks all rights reserved
Great shots! As often as I've been out on this trail, I've never seen these birds up close.
Hey, at least you did much better this time having the "wrong lens" than you did with those whales in Alaska :)
Posted by: Dominique | July 17, 2009 at 09:37 AM
I really need to get out to Kensington. I had no idea that they had cranes such as these just wandering about.
Posted by: Becks Davis | July 18, 2009 at 11:07 AM
Becks
This was the first time I've seen them up-close. I think they tend to stay hidden on weekends (to many humans) so morning during the week is probably best.
Posted by: Tim | July 18, 2009 at 11:51 AM
great pictures, i've never seen a crane this close up. there are tons in costa rica, but nothing this great!
Posted by: marina k. villatoro | July 18, 2009 at 01:22 PM