I made this image by shooting straight into the sun. I had the camera set to Aperture Priority so it compensated for the bright light by upping the shutter speed. The result is a strangely dark shot that reminds me a bit of images of Jupiter but with the sun in place of the red spot.
This is a mating pair of sandhill cranes flying overhead in Wyebridge, Ontario. I’m more accustomed to shoot sandhill cranes during winter trips to Florida where they wake you in the morning with a cry that sounds like the raptors in the movie, Jurassic Park. Although it always surprises me to see them in Ontario, it shouldn’t. When you consider their wingspan and the speed of their flight, how can they not have a huge range? More telling is the fact that their formal name is Antigone canadensis because they do most of their nesting in northern Canada.
When I see a bird this size, I wonder what it tastes like. Probably chicken. Doesn’t all fowl taste like chicken? The only birds I don’t imagine as a feast on my table are turkey vultures. Turkey vultures feed on carrion and the thought of eating something that feeds on rotten flesh presents me with a gastronomic conundrum. What wine pairs best with a corpse devouring bird? A Riesling? Maybe a Grüner Veltliner? I should consult my sommelier. As for sandhill cranes, I recommend a Chenin Blanc.
