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Audubon Photography Awards

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Sandhill Cranes

Very honored and excited to have my Sandhill Cranes image featured in the 2015 Audubon Photography Awards! This was a shot that took some work and patience( and luck!) to get, but is one of my favorites I have of Sandhill Cranes. The sequence of images below was pretty intense to watch and something I hadn’t witnessed before. This all took place with just a few minutes of the setting sun left and the encounter happened so fast it was hard to register what was captured. I had been hunkered down behind a sage bush waiting for a pair of nesting cranes to make an appearance and had been there for way too many hours and was just getting ready to call it quits. I decided to give it just five more minutes and sure enough the pair emerged and were quickly joined by a third. Within a few moments the third crane engaged in an aggressive display that sent feathers flying and had the two embattled in a aerial encounter that was pretty intense. When it was over, although both appeared shaking up with some feathers missing, neither of the two cranes appeared seriously injured and the third crane retreated and went his own way. When I returned home I was surprised to see what I had captured and pleasantly surprised with this particular frame as the light and position of the cranes all came together. Not only was it a memorable moment, but Sandhill Cranes hold a special place for me and are one of my favorite birds to photograph.

Montana Sandhill Cranes

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Sandhill Cranes at Sunset
Canon 5DmkIII, 500mmf4LIS + 1.4tc. F5.6 1/500 ISO1600

Sanhill Cranes in Motion
Canon 5DmkIII, 500f4LIS+1.4tc. F38 1/6 ISO 200 +0.5

Well spring is finally here, well sort of…A good dumping of snow yesterday and spitting a little this morning with temps in the 30’s. It’s supposed to be short lived with weather back to normal hopefully by the weekend. Spring in the Rockies, got to love it!
Despite the return to winter like conditions, birds have been arriving and the Sandhill Cranes have been awesome in the Helena Valley close to where I live. More here this year than usual and lots of great action. It’s exciting each year to see what new shots I can come up with and trying to find new and creative ways to capture such an amazing bird.

Blackfoot Valley

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Ovando Valley – Images by Jason Savage
Wow, where did summer go? Hard to believe we’re into September and fall is coming up here soon! I’ve spent the last few weeks traveling and getting caught up on some things at home and for the first time since I can remember I actually took a few weeks off from shooting.

Yikes! Putting the down the camera’s a hard one sometimes, but it’s a great way to give your senses a rest and come back with some fresh perspective.

Last night I finally made it out and took a trip up to the Blackfoot Valley near Ovando, Montana. This area is such a rich place with an amazing diversity of wildlife throughout the valley.

Things are starting to pick up, with many birds starting to migrate through the area. There’s especially a large number of Sandhill Cranes in the Valley right now as well.

There have also been a fair number of grizzlies moving through the area, but unfortunately didn’t see any this weekend.

Here’s a few shots from last night.

 

 

Sandhill Cranes

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Sandhill Cranes Dancing
Sandhill Cranes, Montana. Canon 7D, 500mmf4IS, 1.4xII. ISO 800 f8 1/1500.
This image of the Sandhill Cranes at sunset was a memorable one and one where persistence pays off. I had found myself uncomfortably positioned for the last five or six hours somewhat entangled in a large sagebrush waiting for the Sandhill’s to show up. After sitting there with my legs asleep for the last couple hours I decided to give it just a few more minutes before throwing in the towel. Good thing I decided to persevere, for a few minutes later three cranes came strutting out in front of me as the sun was getting close to setting. Two of the cranes chased each other around for a bit and put on some dramatic scenes in the evening light.

I was rewarded that evening with the satisfaction of working hard for an image and having it pay off as well as being reminded that persistence certainly pays in the world of photography.