I live for late afternoons with a mix of clouds and sunshine, especially in the winter, because the combination so often produces striking sunsets.
The sun is so far to the south in the four weeks before and after the winter solstice that much of the color from the setting sun shows up in the south, rather than the west. Both of these shots were taken from my perch in the Sandia foothills; both look south to the area in Albuquerque called Four Hills. The main differences between the two are the lenses I used and, of course, the cloud patterns.1
The image below shows just a handful of cranes flying into the middle Rio Grande Valley for the evening. The snow-capped mountains in the background are the Manzanos, the chain south of the Sandias.2 I took the shot just before sunset while looking east.
It’s a great example of the migratory evening commute. Cranes, geese, and ducks begin coming “home” to water sources3 in the Rio Grande Valley each afternoon. By the time the sun goes down, there’s a steady stream of birds flying in.4
The evening commute is also an excellent example of the many characteristics photos can’t possibly capture, such as the intermittent whoosh of large wings as they flap overhead and the beautiful cacophony of all those bird voices. You can hear just a bit of that amazing music5 in the video below.
I used a wide-angle lens in the first and a telephoto lens in the second.
Manzano means apple in Spanish, and sandía means watermelon.
Many fields in the valley are deliberately flooded so birds can choose from a wide array of overnight accommodations.
The traffic is most dense from about 45 minutes before sunset until about 45 minutes after.
A la John Cage, who’s been an inspiration to me for much of my life.
Great! We just decided we’ll go next monday
The colors are stunning! Enjoyed hearing the sounds of the birds, we have yet to take a trip anywhere to see them this year. We’re thinking about Bernardo Wildlife Refuge in a few days, hope we don’t miss them!