Stefano Unterthiner's Image

Even though Japanese cranes are endangered, photographing them on Hokkaido is easy.

The birds turn up every day at the same time and can be relied on to perform their courtship dances in front of hundreds of cameras. So today, photographs of dancing Japanese cranes are commonplace. To create something original, Stefano set out with specific criteria in mind. First, he wanted perfect 'white-out' conditions, so that the image would be clean and elegant. Second, the photograph had to be close enough to show the delicate detail of their feathers. Third, he wanted a sense of movement - a hint of that famous delicate, leaping choreography. And finally, there had to be synchronicity. The shot he ended up with did all that. But for him, the real joy was witnessing 'one of the most beautiful and emotional scenes imaginable.'