Beautiful Snowy Owl welcoming us just a few miles from home...
Sandhill Cranes, Platte River
Crane over a cornfield
Week six we went back to the Phoenix area for a second show in Carefree. This time the weather was good, so was the show. We spent the next few days photographing more cactus northeast of Phoenix, a few were in bloom but most of that will take place after we've gone. Our last show was a big sprawling affair in downtown Temp. We did well but felt the record 97 degree heat put a dent in sales.
Headed Home: It was a great two months. Shows were good especially considering we had no work native to the area. That will change next time. We worked hard every week photographing this beautiful part of our country and are excited to have new images. We loved traveling west. The weather was great, so were the people and wide open spaces. It was a great mix of new people, new clients and old familiar faces. It was particularly nice getting reacquainted with my old friend Allen 30 years after our days in Bozeme and Big Sky. Most important, a huge thank you to all who bought my work and signed up for the workshops. Thank You.
With the 97 degree heat in Tempe we knew it was time to head home. We headed north, anxious to get to Denver to meet Miss Emily Ann Gerlach, daughter of Joe and Andrea Gerlach, our first granddaughter who was three weeks old the day we arrived. We had a delightful visit with Miss Emily and her parents then headed northeast for a 6-hour drive to the Platte River in Nebraska. Each spring the Platte is a stop over for hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes on their journey north to their nesting grounds.
We drove south of Kearney for an evening shoot, had a nice half-hour of flight opportunities with cranes passing overhead in good light then spent sunset on a bridge watching them come in for the night, most arriving after dark. We decided to spend the night in Kearney.
We set out next morning at first light and found a terrific spot with cranes standing in the water near a sandbar. We photographed from that spot for over an hour. Some cranes flew off, others arrived and gradually the entire flock moved from the water to the sandbar. About an hour after sunrise, in three waves, they all left. We cruised the back roads watching and photographing cranes feeding in harvested cornfields, the primary food source during their stay on the Platte, The light got harsh pretty quickly so we packed up and headed north on a strong south wind for the 8-hour drive to Wing.
Late in the day just a few miles from home a beautiful Snowy Owl sat on a pile of vegetation, dredged up by wind and melting ice. Yellow eyes gleaming in the afternoon sun we took his presence and his look as a welcome home. Spring on the Prairie makes for a great homecoming.
Headed Home: It was a great two months. Shows were good especially considering we had no work native to the area. That will change next time. We worked hard every week photographing this beautiful part of our country and are excited to have new images. We loved traveling west. The weather was great, so were the people and wide open spaces. It was a great mix of new people, new clients and old familiar faces. It was particularly nice getting reacquainted with my old friend Allen 30 years after our days in Bozeme and Big Sky. Most important, a huge thank you to all who bought my work and signed up for the workshops. Thank You.
With the 97 degree heat in Tempe we knew it was time to head home. We headed north, anxious to get to Denver to meet Miss Emily Ann Gerlach, daughter of Joe and Andrea Gerlach, our first granddaughter who was three weeks old the day we arrived. We had a delightful visit with Miss Emily and her parents then headed northeast for a 6-hour drive to the Platte River in Nebraska. Each spring the Platte is a stop over for hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes on their journey north to their nesting grounds.
We drove south of Kearney for an evening shoot, had a nice half-hour of flight opportunities with cranes passing overhead in good light then spent sunset on a bridge watching them come in for the night, most arriving after dark. We decided to spend the night in Kearney.
We set out next morning at first light and found a terrific spot with cranes standing in the water near a sandbar. We photographed from that spot for over an hour. Some cranes flew off, others arrived and gradually the entire flock moved from the water to the sandbar. About an hour after sunrise, in three waves, they all left. We cruised the back roads watching and photographing cranes feeding in harvested cornfields, the primary food source during their stay on the Platte, The light got harsh pretty quickly so we packed up and headed north on a strong south wind for the 8-hour drive to Wing.
Late in the day just a few miles from home a beautiful Snowy Owl sat on a pile of vegetation, dredged up by wind and melting ice. Yellow eyes gleaming in the afternoon sun we took his presence and his look as a welcome home. Spring on the Prairie makes for a great homecoming.
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