Final Approach - a photo on Flickriver

Final Approach

            A trio of snow geese lining up to land in a Central Valley pond.

When I began to pay serious attention to photographing birds a bit more than a decade ago, snow geese and Ross’s geese were my first interest. Although I had been tuned in to parts of California’s natural world for decades, somehow I had more or less missed the annual bird migrations, and “discovering” them was a thrill. Over time the geese no longer seemed like the only thing worth photographing, and I no longer chase after them reflexively. But they still can be compelling — and there’s nothing quite like the sight and sound of thousands of them taking to the air at once.

I photographed this trio on a late-December day, during the period when the numbers of geese are steadily increasing. There are more things to attend to when trying to photograph these birds than might be apparent at first. Exposure can be tricky, as their brilliant white plumage can blow out against sky. The light needs to shine on them from the right direction, or their features can get lost in shadows. And, of course, you hope that the geese aren’t facing away from you! For this photograph I was in just the right spot as the birds turned toward me and into the breeze to land.

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: December 23, 2023

Tags:

snow

geese

flight

migratory

trio

three

line

land

pond

wetlands

sky

approach

wings

nature

wildlife

mnwr

califonria

usa

north

america « less

Camera: Fujifilm X-T5, f/13.0, 1/950 sec, 540.4mm (=811mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Fujifilm X-T5
Lens:	XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x
Aperture:	f/13.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/950)
Focal Length:	540.4mm (35mm equivalent: 811mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	-0.33 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 25.3 (Macintosh)
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