Ken Papaleo: X Marks the Shot: Dancing Sandhill Cranes, Monte Vista, Colorado.

"X Shot" information.

ISO - 800

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Shutter - 1/800 sec.

F/stop - 6.3

Lens - 500 mm

Tripod was used for this photo.

LOCATION.

1. The cranes were mostly located on or above the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge, Monte Vista,

Colorado.

2. It's about a 4 hour drive from Denver to the refuge.

3. If your going to go, go now, they will be leaving for Idaho soon.

THE CHALLENGE.

The Sandhill cranes take part in a courtship dance, once they bond they are a pair for life. This dance makes great pictures. Most of the time the birds don't let you get to close. I wanted to get a good look

at their activity and see how many fun shots I could come up with.

SOLUTION.

The first thing I had to do was shoot with my 500 mm lens and sometimes add a 1.4 tele converter.

My set-up was on a tripod, which made it a lot easier to shoot. After watching their daily behavior, I noticed that more dancing was done in the mornings, after they flew in to feed and late afternoon/evening, before they flew off for the night. I would watch the flock of birds on the ground to see where the activity was and than shoot away. If you don't have a big lens, you can shoot at a low ISO and than crop in on your subject in the picture. The lower ISO will let you to do this without causing pixel problems.

OTHER SHOTS OF DANCING CRANES.