Invisible Warmth

The image is very close to my heart for 2 reasons. First, I had always dreamt of visiting Japan and once I began my journey of wildlife photography, the desired to photograph wildlife in Japan grew stronger. Second, this image was made on a extremely cold morning and as the red-crowned cranes engaged in a calling-out ritual to re-enforce their bond, the hot air coming out of their mouth met the extreme cold to help me make this image. The warmth getting captured in such testing conditions was indeed a sight, as you can see and it warmed my heart as i was able to realize a long awaited dream.

The red-crowned crane also known as the Japanese crane or Manchurian crane, is among the rarest cranes in the world. In Japan and China, cranes, especially red-crowned cranes, are thought to bring good luck! At one time, the Japanese believed the crane lived for 1,000 years, so it became a symbol of long life.

I will be happy to ship a print of this image.

Image resolution: 3600x2400