Ed Luckow’s morning shot was awarded second place in our Focus on Maple Grove photo contest.
As winter loosens its frigid grasp on the frozen world we call home, the thaw of spring ignites a remarkable transformation in our natural surroundings. This time last year, Maple Grove resident Ed Luckow was fortunate enough to come face to face with one of the most impressive natural changes on our planet, and it earned him second place in the Nature and Wildlife category of our 2014 Focus on Maple Grove photo contest.
It was just another spring morning as Luckow, who is retired, prepared for his daily walk by slinging his Nikon D7100 camera with a 70-300 mm Tamron lens over his neck. “I walk every morning on a trail that winds through a nature area behind my home in Maple Grove,” says Luckow, who rarely ventures on the morning hike without his trusty camera. “I enjoy taking photos of the birds I see on my morning walks, but I also love photographing the fall colors in the Maple Grove area.”
On that crisp April morning, Luckow found himself just 70 yards away from one of the largest and most peculiar migratory birds in North America.
“I have often witnessed sandhill cranes on my travels to Arizona. The birds can be seen in great numbers in Nebraska, but I have never before seen a single pair here in Minnesota,” he says.
However, it wasn’t the size of the bird that caught Luckow’s attention, but rather the noisy and boisterous social behavior that nudged the pair of cranes into the sights of his camera. Luckow watched the pair for 10 minutes as he snapped dozens of photos, hoping to capture their beauty.
“It’s really a great thing when you go to print your photos and you even find yourself saying, ‘Wow!’” he adds.
