We went to Bosque del Apache to see the sandhill cranes that go there in Nov. The cranes were wonderful. But while we were there, there was a larger murmuration of red-wing black birds. It was incredible to see!! Here's an example of what we saw:
It was when I zoomed in to a portion that I saw just how beautiful it was. I wasn't crazy about my entry, because I had to crop it too much. When you take a larger area and look at it around 3000 pixels, the sheer number of birds, the movement, the colors flashing, it's just amazing. The entry is nice, but I started with a much larger area, and it lost too much shrinking it down. So I cropped in tighter.
But that's not why I'm posting. The experience was even more incredible. Because after the flew around awhile, at one point they flew right over us. I mean I could have reached out and touched them. Jeff and I were in a mummuration of blackbirds. The sound of the wings, feeling the air move around you as they flew past, was such an experience. It was one of the highlights of an incredible trip!
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This is amazing. Given this was an Extended editing challenge, I incorrectly assumed that this image was made from multiple shots. To learn you were literally in the middle of it -- I cannot imagine. A once in a lifetime experience. I would love to see a large print that reveals the detail in the cropped entry as you got closer.
Luxuriant outburst of beauty, notes that shift and swing in chorus. Delicate power. Love the bokeh. And how does one guy get this lucky?
Glorious image.
Personal co-second favorite of the challenge.
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