Ever since I began my career as a news photographer in Chicago in the 1960s, I’ve felt that photography is something I’d do for free. (It’s nice to be paid for it, though.) For me, this art form goes beyond monetary value — it’s good for the soul, especially when you get that shot you’ve been chasing for a long time.
I’ve been visiting Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, a site in Southeastern Arizona, for about 10 years now. Whitewater Draw is well known as a roosting site for sandhill cranes, which typically arrive in early October and depart in mid-March. During my visits, I’ve tried to capture the cranes flying in front of the moon, but this shot is a technical nightmare. To keep the moon somewhat sharp requires a high depth of field, but in the low light of sunrise, you need a wider aperture. Freezing the fast-moving cranes requires a fast shutter speed, and the birds are high in the sky, which means using a long lens. In short, it’s a balancing act among photo quality, freezing the action and maximizing sharpness throughout the image.
Through trial and error, I’ve been able to gradually improve my results. One thing I’ve learned is how to manage the auto-focus on my camera and prevent it from focusing on the moon and dropping the cranes out of focus. I’ve also tried to get as close as possible to where the birds take off, and I’ve spent a lot of time poring over charts to know where the sun and moon will be on a given morning.
One morning this past December, everything came together and I was able to capture this image of the cranes and the moon at sunrise. Between the light on the birds and the yellow cast on the moon, I’m very happy with this photo, but it’s still a work in progress, as all photography is. For example, I’d like to get the moon closer to the horizon so I can include some of the pinks of sunrise in the image. In landscape photography, you’re never done. But it’s good to enjoy your successes when you can.