A common species but the photo interests me on many levels.
Bad weather and poor shooting conditions have kept me grounded for what seems like eons so yesterday morning while it was snowing I paid a visit to one of several ponds I frequent to see if I could get lucky. I knew the light would be poor but falling snowflakes in my images can compensate for low light in some ways so I went for the gusto.
1/800, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
My timing was good because for a period of about 10 minutes wave after wave of Canada Geese came in to land on the relatively small patch of open water on the mostly ice-covered pond. They reminded me of squadrons of jet fighters queuing in the air to take their turn landing on an aircraft carrier. Their noisy honking as they approached added to the chaos and excitement.
With white skies and poor light very few of my photos were any good but this one jumped out at me. Whether viewers like the photo or not I think it’s interesting and even appealing for a variety of reasons including the following:
- I like the falling snow, the snow-covered tree branches snaking through the background and the flight posture as the heavy goose falls more than flies to its chosen landing spot on the pond.
- The photo is full frame (uncropped).
- Because it’s full frame I was incredibly lucky to avoid clipping or cutting off any body parts. Almost unbelievably so with a bird in flight.
- My luck continued when I realized I caught the goose in just about the only position in the frame that provided pleasing composition (I couldn’t crop to achieve that composition).
- With a shutter speed of only 1/800 second I expected many of my flight shots to be soft (even with such a large and slow bird) but because the wings were flapping slowly as the goose descended they’re plenty sharp.
- Because the goose is huge and filling the frame a lack of depth of field would have rendered the wings soft if they’d been in almost any other position. But here the wings are on the same plane as the body of the bird so they’re sharp.
- For me at least accomplishing all that with a bird in flight is extraordinary. The goose may be a little tight in the frame for some tastes but with everything else working so well in these tough conditions I can easily live with the tightness.
That’s a lot of things that had to come together to get this shot. When I realized how lucky I was it made me wonder where Murphy had been when I took the photo.
Maybe ol’ Murph has an aversion for snow and cold so he decided to stay home rather than sitting on my shoulder and botching each and every shot I took.
Ron
I like this shot too. Tell me about Murphy.
Murphy of “Murphy’s Law”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law
Love this shot!
Thanks, Jane.
A wonderful and evocative image – hard to imagine the conditions there given those currently prevailing here Down Under.
Bets wishes for 2020.
Gary, I think of you folks suffering that heat and those fires every day lately. I’m so sorry it’s happening.
I love this photo! It’s beautiful on so many levels. I don’t really care if a bird is common or not – for me they are all “glorious” birds! To paraphrase Ruth Gordon in “Harold and Maude” . HaHa! Guess I am really showing my age. Happy New Year to all.
Anyone showing their age fits in just fine around here, Joanne! 🙂
My first thought was next year’s holiday card too! Birds of a feather, apparently. 🙂
This shot is all kinds of wonderful. I like seeing the Canada Goose fill the frame in all his landing glory! Plus a catchlight. Wheeeeeee!
Wishing everyone and everything a peaceful 2020.
Thanks, Marty. Now if I can only remember this shot when the holidays come around next year!
The best vision of a holiday Goose I can imagine: on the wing and full of life. Gives me hope for a happy new year for us all.
“On the wing and full of life.”
That’s how I prefer them too, Lyle.
Nothing like watching geese set their wings, scope out the right spot, spill the air to descend and then soften that last bit of descent with some strong strokes. Great shot.
Interesting and accurate description of the process, Ron.
Top notch Ron! Wonderful when everything comes together. Happy New Year and good luck in the coming year.!
Thanks, Frank. Same to you.
I like it, it has a very somber dignified grace. Geese have such weighty bodies take off and landings are often ponderous.
I am spending all my time off work hamstrung by the weather. It is making me restless and fidgety, unable to settle down to other projects. Looks like the only good weather will be Monday and Tuesday when I return to work!
That sounds like the kind of timing I always had while I was teaching, April. I know how it feels so you definitely have my sympathy.
Ron, a great shot of a beautiful bird in a lovely wintry scene. Thank you, Ron. Happy New Year to you and all of your readers.
Thank you, Alice.
Take that Murphy. LOVE it – on so many levels.
The New Year has reached us (though dawn has not) so I am going to take the opportunity to wish you and all your readers a very Happy, Healthy, Bird-filled and Gentler New Year.
It’s always nice to get the best of ol’ Murph. Thanks, EC and may your new year bring you relief from fires and heat.
Thanks Ron.
Yesterday was catastrophic across several states. Lives, homes and habitat destroyed. Several fires are still out of control, and while we are, for the moment, out of the danger zone my city (and the house) are shrouded in a pall of smoke.
Lovely. The snowy branch parallels the curve of the goose’s wing. The bright ventral lights are a plus. A calm and beautiful photograph that I enjoy.
Thank you, Pam.
My thought is with Jim Marsh. At first glance I thought it would make an excellent holiday card.
🙂
Now there’s a fine holiday greeting card image for 2020…
Sweet.
Good idea, Jim. Thanks.
Just my opinion,but i think you should keep the 7d mark ii. I don’t know of any other camera body with the dynamic range to accomplish a shot like this not to mention the auto focus system which made it all come together.
Good job,looks very natural. I’m curious,were you shooting in a westerly direction ? ie was there enough sun getting through the clouds and snow to at least be picked up by the sensor? If so ,the 7d mark ii never ceases to amaze!
I was shooting directly to the east. I believe that light reflecting upward from the ice and snow-covered pond lit up the whites on the rear of the bird just enough to provide enough contrast for my active focusing point to lock onto the bird. Notice how bright the ventral surfaces of the bird are.
I am opening up a little later than normal this morning so I got to read everyone else’s comments first. A 100% ditto with Judy, and a total agreement with Dave Brooks chaos, honking, and excitement. That is a beautiful shot of a beautiful bird. Yesterday afternoon I was down at our Willow Lake taking some photos of our four visiting Tundra Swans and suddenly a hundred or more Canada Geese came flying right overhead and very noisily proceeded to land about fifty yards away. Can’t get much more common than Canada Geese, but I never tired of watching them. Thanks for sharing this one Ron.
A group of geese coming in to land is always noisy and exciting. And fun to experience when it happens up close. Thanks, Everett.
There is even a 12 0’oclock catch light in the eye during a snow storm! Amazing image!!!
Good eye, Tom. That catch light was dim in the RAW file so I brightened it slightly during processing (we talked about that in yesterday’s post). Any brighter and it would have looked artificial in these lighting conditions.
I love this shot with the flat light and flattened colors dressed up in falling snow and softened branches. A winter delight!
I’ll take that noisy honking, chaos and excitement any day I can get it.
Thanks for wrapping up the year so nicely.
Here’s to cheers in 2020!
“I’ll take that noisy honking, chaos and excitement any day I can get it.”
Me too, Dave. This pond is close to my house so even when I’m home I see and hear geese flying overhead as they approach the pond in noisy waves. Excitement indeed.
This is a lovely photo! The layers of the wing feathers definitely are highlighted against that background. This photo shows why monochromatic schemes really work! Also like the effect of the fanned tail feathers…very interesting. Canadians may be commonplace but I find them to be quite impressive. Very nice catch! 😍
Thanks, Kathy. My eye goes to that fanned tail also.
BEAUTIFUL! 🙂 Absolutely LOVE this photo! Everything came together for this one – the frozen snowflakes, snowy background, position of the goose. Murphy DID stay home….. 😉 Well done, Ron…..
If Murphy didn’t stay home he was at least distracted for a moment when I took this shot. Thank you, Judy.
Wonderful capture! Love the falling snow and the (as usual) razor sharp capture!
Thanks very much, Rick.