Geese in Motion - a photo on Flickriver

Geese in Motion

            Geese in Motion. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Long exposure photograph of an airborne flock of migratory geese.

A day of my wildlife photography typically begins and ends in darkness — I arrive and set up before sunrise and “don’t pack until it’s black.” During the earliest and latest times there’s often barely enough to light to make photographs, especially with the long lenses that I favor for this subject. In the early morning I often just crank up the ISO and do the best I can. But in the evening I frequently go the opposite direction in my final shots of the day — lowering the ISO and intentionally working with rather long exposures that allow the birds’ motion to blur.

Given the popularity of sharp pictures of birds — something that I often aspire to, as well — this might seem counterintuitive. But it occurred to me some years ago that the mass of blurred motion actually better evokes the wild seeming-chaos of these mass flights. They are not so much about any particular bird as they are about the half-seen motion of the group.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Taken on: February 21, 2023

Tags:

central

san joaquin

snow

ross's

white-fronted

geese

flock

flight

long exposure

motion

blur

sky

wildlife

nature

abstract

mnwr

california

usa

north

america « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5DS R, f/5.6, 0.3 sec, 400mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5DS R
Lens:	EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.3
Focal Length:	400mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 24.1 (Macintosh)
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