Your breath in the sunlight looks like a flame
Succeeded in the 8th challenge
A photo of a pair of cranes standing on a snowy ground, spewing orange breath toward the sky as if they were breathing fire, has become a hot topic among Japanese netizens.
According to the Japanese media ‘J Town Net’ on the 18th, photos of cranes taken by Koki Ueda, a photographer living in Niigata Prefecture, are attracting attention in Japan.
In the photo taken, two cranes are standing upright on the white snow-covered ground and emitting orange breath toward the sky. At first glance, it looks like fire is coming out of the bird’s beak. Breath exposed to sunlight at sunrise time looks like a flame.
According to Mr. Ueda, this photo was taken in Tsurui Village, Hokkaido, on December 30th last year. Tsurui Village is famous as a place where cranes, a natural monument of Japan, gather. The river that flows through this village rarely freezes even during the winter, so hungry cranes come looking for food. It is said that from mid to late December, more than 100 cranes fly in search of food in the unfrozen river.
Mr. Ueda, who had witnessed the same scene as the photo, attempted seven times over the past several years to capture it on camera. But the results all failed. He explained, “In order to take the photo you want, several conditions must be met. It must be a clear day, the cranes must fly in at sunrise, and they must cry with the sunlight in the background.”
Finally, on the 8th day of the challenge, Mr. Ueda waited for these conditions and succeeded in capturing a gem. I waited with bated breath even before the sun rose and succeeded in capturing the sight of a crane flying.
Mr. Ueda said, “It was very touching to see the cranes exhaling orange-colored breath and crying,” and added, “I was very happy to see and film this scene with my own eyes.”
This photo of the ‘fire-breathing crane’ is receiving a lot of attention on social media, with more than 3.9 million views. Netizens who saw the photo responded, “Maybe the legend of the Phoenix was born at a time like this,” “A masterpiece that lets you feel the mercy of the subject,” and “The best photo of December 2023.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.