 | About This Shoot | Date: 21 January 2013 | Location: Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico | Shoot Type: Wildlife | | Synopsis:
This was my first day at Bosque del Apache. I arrived early in the afternoon and started off by driving the Marsh Loop, which is the south part of refuge. I got some Pintail images and some nice shots of a group of Mule Deer, including a nice buck. After that, I got some initial Sandhill Crane shots and scouted where to do my first sunset shoot. Just north of the Flight Deck along the shore was where the primary roosting spot was for both Sandhill Crane and Snow Geese. I had some pretty good light for the sunset shoot, and came away with some decent images for the first day. |
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Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:56:50 -0700
Bosque del Apache Day 1 - January 21 | *I* arrived in Bosque del Apache early in the afternoon. This first day of
shooting was much better than expected -- a success all around. I started
my shoot traveling the South Loop where I photographed some Pintails, a
Northern Shoveler, Mallards. I then came across some mule deer, including
one buck. The buck was quite active, as I photographed him doing an antler
rub on a tree branch. Then he started playing around with a couple of
does. I then headed north as the sun was getting lower, and it was time to
focus on the light geese and Sandhill Cranes. After initially
photographing some in flight shots near the Farm Deck, I headed to the
shore of the west pool just north of the Flight Deck. This was where the
fly-in was occurring. The geese and cranes were very tolerant of the
growing crowd of photographers and bird watchers. The scenes prior to and
at sunset were just awesome.
*I* shot 1359 frames today... all on the D7000 and with the 600mm f/4 lens.
3 of those frames are included in this post of Sandhill Cranes. Enjoy!
More to come later! -Mike
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Sun, 20 Jan 2013 19:39:34 +0000
Bosque del Apache Photography Trip |
Everything is on track for my 6-day trip to the Rio Grande Valley to photograph wildlife: Sandhill Crane and Snow Geese, to be specific (as well as other attendant wildlife). My focus will be on the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. I timed this particular trip around the approach of the full moon, which will be this Saturday (26th). I will be basing out of Socorro, NM, which is 20 miles north of the refuge. There are other smaller wildlife management areas that I will also photograph at along the Rio Grande. Wintering Sandhill Cranes use the entire Rio Grande Valley from Albuquerque down to El Paso, but are most concentrated from just south of Albuquerque to Bosque del Apache. I photographed Bosque 7 years ago in 2006, and it was an experience I will never forget. It was this trip that really got me hooked on wildlife photography. The incredible landscape with the mountain terrain, the phenomenal New Mexico sky, combined with flight of snow geese and cranes can make for amazing images. It is no wonder this is a destination for wildlife photographers. I decided to wait for my return visit to Bosque once I got my new 600mm lens. It was a long wait, but now that I have the lens and some other updated photography gear, I’m on my way back! Here’s hoping for some amazing images from the Bosque... (The image below is the NWS weather forecast; Highs in the 50s, lows in the mid/upper 20s works for me!)
Itinerary:
Sunday 20th... depart Dodge City after work (roughly 3pm) for Tucumcari, NM
Monday 21st... depart early morning from Tucumcari, NM for Socorro, NM (late afternoon/evening shoot)
Tuesday 22nd through Saturday 26th... Shoot days!
Sunday 27th... Sunrise shoot then depart Socorro, NM for Dodge City. | 
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