Many of these images have been salted liberally throughout this section as dividers
between species. I thought it would be a good idea to put them all in one place, along with
some that you haven’t seen yet. The sunrises on days with clouds in the east can be awe inspiring,
with or without the Snow Geese, and some of the sunsets can be nearly as nice. I think you’ll like this.

These images are available as LG or XL signed images.

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Images on this page are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Gallery Collections page where a Collection can be selected.

Some of the images can be found in these Galleries:
(Direct Links)

Scenic Birds
New Mexico Scenic
Snow Geese
Sandhill Crane Portrait & Scenic

New Mexico Sunrise X6762

Dawn over the marsh, with a flock of
thousands of Snow Geese heading to the fields.
 

Bosque Sunrise 4495

An especially dramatic dawn over the pond
in front of the Flight Deck at Bosque del Apache.
The cloud was perfectly placed to reflect the light.
 

Sunrise on the Bosque XL

click for a 960 x 1200 version

Available as an XL Signed Composite (2464 x 3080)

The time span between these two shots (4495 and 4500) is 4 min. 20 sec..
The shift in color is quite dramatic, as you can see.

Bosque Dawn X8717

Just enough cloud on the horizon for a beautiful sunrise, this one is capped by a flyout from the east.
 

Bosque Dawn X8721 pano crop

The beginning of the flyout. This is a 2251 x 750 resized version of the 4288 x 1429 XL signed image.

Notice how the geese which are flying through the red-orange sunrise turn red. Cool, isn’t it?.
 

Bosque Dawn Flyout X8725

6 seconds later and we’ve got a spectacular flyout image. Again, the birds in the sunrise region
are red, and the foreground birds are moving fast enough to turn into surrealistic representations
of birds, contrasting with the sharp detail of the landscape and the cranes on the water. A neat shot.
 

Bosque Dawn Flyout X8726

Not even a second later, and the foreground birds have moved far enough to fill the frame.
If you try shooting a flyout, it’s best to start shooting a little before you get your desired composition
and continue past it... you often get two or three extra shots that have great value after cropping.
 

Bosque Dawn Flyout XL

click for a 1335 x 1144 version

Available as an XL Signed Composite (3560 x 3050)

Bosque Sunrise 6487

Sometimes, isolating detail in the landscape with a short telephoto (85mm) yields an interesting shot.
 

Bosque Sunrise 6491

In this version (also 85mm) I gave up the foreground to cap the scene with some of the cloud.
 

Bosque Sunrise X9234

The same scene taken a year later, with a thinly overcast sky diffusing the light onto the water.

Any of the files with an X in the shot number are available as XL Signed Images.

This one is 4288 x 2848 and is capable of making a large high-grade print.
(the size of the print depends on the choice of media used)
 

New Mexico Sunrise X6760

This landscape image was taken just after the sun started to light the clouds.
I took a series of these starting when the light became adequate and pushed the
exposure two stops. By the time the light was strong enough to light the landscape, the
color was less desirable. Shoot when the color is right, use a solid tripod, and push the exposure.
 

Bosque Flyout 2232

On overcast days, the light is diffused through the clouds and you can get
very interesting color effects both in the sky and on the water.
 

Sandhill Cranes First Light HS1042

A thinly overcast, very cold morning in December.
The diffused light turns the ice mauve. Attractive...
 

Sandhill Cranes Sunrise on the Ice HS1061

The sun rises above a gap in the cloud layer and
lights the cottonwoods and the Chupadera Mtns.
 

Snow Geese Sunrise HS1065

Just a few minutes later (after the color has muted a bit -- 6 minutes makes a big difference)
a flock of Snow Geese fly by, picking up the now pink rays of the sunrise. A beautiful scene.
 

Snow Geese Dawn Flyout HS8386

A cold clear morning, shooting towards the south at a flock of thousands of Snow Geese.
 

Crane Pool 3367

One of the Crane Pools west of Bosque’s entrance road, about an hour after sunrise and after most
of the Cranes and all of the Snow Geese have left for the fields. Some stragglers remain
adding to the scene with a beautiful reflection of the Chupadera Mountains.
 

Crane Pool 5011

The same Crane Pool, a week later and half an hour earlier, at the end of the golden hour after sunrise,
with some Cranes still present, a group flying out of the pond, and a quartet over the mountains.
 

Snow Geese Moon X4031

Snow Geese flying in front of the Moon on their way to their evening roost.
 

Sandhill Cranes Sunset HS0942

After sunset on the Flight Deck pond, two Cranes
get their evening drink after flying in from the fields.
 

New Mexico Sunset HS8383

Cranes heading to their evening roosting pond,
passing a cloud lit by the pink rays after sunset.
 

New Mexico Sunset X6458

The ponds provide overnight protection from predators such as coyotes.
 

Sandhill Crane Sunset HS8377
 

Snow Geese Sunset HS8379
 

Sandhill Crane Sunset HS8373
 

Sandhill Crane Sunset HS8376
 

When you’re visiting Bosque del Apache, you may want to head into the Chupaderas
towards the town of Magdalena. Not far from Magdalena is the Very Large Array (VLA),
on the plains of San Augustin (about 50 miles from Socorro on Hwy 60). Composed of
27 enormous antennas that can be moved along railroad tracks to prepared positions,
this Y-shaped radio astronomy complex is used to listen to signals from space.
 

VLA sunrise 7121
 

VLA sunrise 7143
 

VLA sunrise 7148
 

Images on this page are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Gallery Collections page where a Collection can be selected.

Some of the images can be found in these Galleries:
(Direct Links)

Scenic Birds
New Mexico Scenic
Snow Geese
Sandhill Crane Portrait & Scenic