January 29th-
I’m on the plane heading to Japan now. I’m anxious to get to the snow monkey park since I heard there has been lots of snow. I hope it doesn’t melt by the time I get there. Snow is a great backdrop for the monkeys. I especially like it when it snows while we are there, so fingers crossed.
I’m also hoping for snow at the crane sanctuary. The Red- crowned cranes are beautiful but a snowy background gives an artistic edge to the photos.
United airlines bumped me to one of their Polaris seats; I guess they didn’t sell out. It’s pretty comfortable up here in the front of the plane.
We arrived at our Japanese ryokan near the snow monkey park. Here we enjoyed some traditional cuisine and had a bit of fun learning about their customs. After 2 1/2 days with the snow monkeys, I’d say everyone got tons of great photos and really enjoyed themselves.
January 3rd:
We leave our traditional ryokan today and head to Hokkaido via a domestic flight. In Hokkaido we will photograph Red-crowned cranes, Whooper Swans, Ezo fox, Ural owls and more.
January 4th:
The day started and ended with sunny conditions, not so great for white birds. We left the crane sanctuary and opted to photograph the Ural owl which was tucked into a tree cavity in a shaded forest.
Dinner was fantastic as are all of our meals at the lodge. Our chef prepares lightly dressed salads and about four assorted side dishes and at least one main course and soup.
January 5th:
Another sunny day… more owl photography. We visited a marsh area looking for fox and some landscapes. We photographed most of our favorite landscape places as the light was better in those locations than at the crane sanctuary.
January 6th:
We got up early and photographed at the famous bridge with fog and hoarfrost. We left extremely happy as conditions were perfect for the cranes in the mist. We finished the day off with an afternoon shoot with the cranes.
January 7th:
We went to Lake Kussharo for the Whooper swans. When we arrived in the early morning we were treated to beautiful pink light and loads of hoarfrost covered trees. There was even an iceberg! It turned out to be a fabulous day with a visit to a famous ramen restaurant.
January 8th:
A morning shoot with the cranes followed by an afternoon shoot with the cranes.
January 9th:
We went to Rausu to photograph the Stellar’s sea eagles and White-tailed eagles on pack ice from a boat. Lots of pack ice and eagles!
January 10th:
Back to Lake Kussharo for an early morning shoot with the swans. We left and had lunch again at our favorite ramen bar then found four fox on snow covered hills. Three males trying to mate with one female, a couple of fox interactions and some lone tree photography rounded out the day.
January 11th: our last full day together. Crane sanctuary for an early morning shoot. We were blessed with snow. The cranes rejoiced and danced in the snow... it was a good day for all.
Long-tailed tit drinking from maple icicle.
My obsession with trees continues…
I call this one “Candy Canes”
A high-key rendition
January 12th: we head back to Haneda and say goodbye to our fellow photographers and get a good night’s sleep before meeting our next group. I have included some images from both trips here.