Watch the video above, and read the rest of the story below.

From The Hill

Photographers often use reflector boards to control the lighting of their photos by bouncing light from the sun onto other objects. But did you know you can also use your camera to capture reflected light that bounced off the Earth itself? It’s not that difficult, but you do need exactly the right conditions.
It was a cold, windy, February day during a blizzard—but the weather was not enough to stop this brave flock of small birds with red caps. They used their short beaks to pry seeds out of dried birch catkins. These hardy birds are Redpolls.
But the deer don't seem to mind.
How do chickadees live in cold temperatures?
A pair of Sandhill Cranes arrive on the farm...only to find there is still snow on the ground!
The snow continues to fall...and presents a photographic opportunity.
A winter weather encounter with three hungry whitetail deer.

02/02/2018

Look what just arrived today, our author copy of our latest book, "Chicken DIY: 20 Fun-to-Make Projects for Happy, Healthy Chickens." Always a fun moment! Written and photographed by Fox Hill Photo's Daniel Johnson and Samantha Johnson.
We're now in week two of our two-week online Winter Horse Photography course that we put on with the Equine Photographers Network.

02/01/2017

Fox Hill Photo launches its new blog! We hope to bring you a little more insight into the work we do, our photography process, and the great place we live!

The Sandhill Cranes Arrive Early

4/25/2019

Watch the video above, and read the rest of the story below.

A pair of Sandhill Cranes returned to farm recently—only to discover their migratory summer home still engulfed with snow. The two of them flew in from the south, sailed magnificently across the fields, called to each other in their spectacularly loud and unmistakable voices, and then landed in the snow without further fanfare. They each stood silently in the cold, looking around at the snow, as if to say, “What happened here?”

You have to give them credit for making the best of it. April in the north can still be a “winter” month, but in a minimum of a few weeks all of the snow will be gone and the frenzy of spring activity will start. Apparently, the Sandhill Cranes are willing to “wait it out.”

Within a few days the pair had moved down to the pond areas—still mostly frozen, but with narrow water lanes open and a thick layer of soaked, slushy snow on top of the ice. The broken remains of last year’s grasses and cattails still poked up through the ice, and it was here that the cranes worked, poking around for bits of anything to eat.

 

They walked through the icy cold water, looking, pausing, and occasionally picking up bits of grass with their long beaks. What could they be hoping to find this early in the spring? Repeatedly, they picked up large lumps of soggy grass, which they would hold for a moment before releasing. Nearby, two Canada Geese sulked in the grass, nibbling on nothing, and waited for spring as well.

Two days later, conditions took a turn for the worse. A late winter blizzard roared in from the east, bringing high winds and heavy snow conditions. I found the cranes again trying their best to cope. They had moved away from the ponds somewhat, and stood in the empty hay fields, just waiting for the snow to end. They each stood with one leg held up against their bodies for warmth, trying to balance against the strong winds on one foot. Amazingly, their efforts paid off and they stayed erect.  

Photographing and filming the cranes in these conditions proved very challenging. Besides fighting the cold temperatures, the wind gusts repeatedly shook my video rig, causing the image to vibrate rapidly. The magnification qualities of my 500mm lens not only enlarge the image of the cranes on the camera’s sensor, they also magnify the vibration of every puff of wind. Since I was shooting the video with a 1.5x crop factor on my camera’s sensor, I was effectively filming with a 750mm lens—further inviting camera shake from the wind. Luckily, there were times of calm between the severe gusts, so I was able to secure a few decent video segments as well as a series of high-resolution still photos. The cranes regarded me with only mild curiosity, as if to say, “Really? He’s out here in this weather, too?”

 

Eventually, of course, this long winter will end, the grass will grow, and the cranes will hopefully be able to raise a chick or two over the summer. Can’t wait—I’ll be “craning” my neck to see them!