Ok - it has been a while, but I just couldn't bring myself to do much in the way of photography this winter...

But things are starting to turn, and I've been getting out with the camera a bit more often. Add to that, we've been getting the opportunity to see all kinds of amazing stuff that we never would see down in Pittsburgh. The first of which is a pretty good rarity in this area as we are only on their migration route, this is not a long term stop-over for these guys...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/6400 sec at f/6.3. OS Mode 1. ISO 5000. RAW conversion in Adobe Camera Raw, additional modifications in Photoshop CS5.

When I first took this photo, I thought it was going to be great. After looking at it on the computer, I noticed how noisy it was and the general lack of sharpness that resulted in trying to clean up the noise.

But still, I'm not sure how many times I'll get the opportunity to photograph a Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis), so I am fairly pleased with this one.

I have more stuff to share once I finish processing it all, and there is so much more I want to get photos of, but I don't want to spoil anything, so you'll have to wait to find out what.

Stay tuned!

- Bill