Do you ever find yourself really liking some of your photos that are full of technical flaws?
As a non-professional, I have had more than my fair share of blurry images, missed subjects, out-of-kilter compositions, and poor exposures. Many of them are deleted as soon as I view them on the back of the camera. Sometimes, though, the mistakes yield such interesting results that I can’t bear to delete them.
I arrived at the beaver lodge at my local marshland before the sun had fully risen one morning this past weekend, hoping to see the beavers in action. I had my camera set on ISO 400 and it was wide open at F4, with the mode set for aperture priority. I hadn’t yet set up my tripod, which I was hoping to use, because I anticipated relatively slow shutter speeds.
All of the sudden I hear the sound of geese approaching and it quickly became clear that they were coming in for a landing in the beaver pond. Without really thinking, I panned the camera and started shooting as I tried to follow the geese as they approached the water. Most of the photos were totally unusable. There was so little light that my camera chose a shutter speed of 1/6 of a second. Even with image stabilization, that’s too slow for handheld photos.
There was one image, however, that I really liked. The head of one goose is relatively in focus and another goose is visible (although out of focus) in the foreground. The background is blurred from my panning action. Somehow it reminds me of the photos they used to show of the finishes of races in which photos had to be developed to determine who crossed the finish line first. In this case, the geese seem to be leaning forward towards an invisible finish line in the same way that sprinters do.
Clearly this is not a great (or even good) photo, but I like it, and maybe others will find it interesting too.
Photo finish
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I love it! It has kind if a texture to it.
Thanks, Sue. It’s not at all like the “normal” photos that I post, so I was initially quite hesitant to post it. However, I decided to follow the simple rule of posting what I like.
Way cool!!!!!!!!
I love it, it looks like a painting.
Thanks. My son said exactly the same thing when he saw the photo (he’s 25).
Love it. It speaks to the motion and excitement of flight.
Love it! It’s good movement and speed, and is that not what you want to show, together with the surprise at their sudden arrival? It’s all about the message that you want to convey with your picture, is it not. Sharpness is only one way of trying to show others what struck you.
Another good thing about the picture (in my eyes) is that the background reflects the colours of the geese.
Thanks so much for your wonderfully detailed comments. I think we instinctively make quick judgments about whether we like or don’t like something without fully understanding why. My challenge now is to try to be able to produce the kind of effects that I like intentionally (rather than somewhat accidentally as was the case in this situation).
Nice!……leaves much more room for your imagination and creativity
It’s a sensational photo. Easily my favorite geese in flight photo of all time, and I’ve been trying to get geese for a long time. That it was serendipity is all the better.
Wow. Thanks, Paul. I am really glad that you like it that much. I guess the mark of a professional would be planning out a shot like this and achieving it, but I am certainly not a professional, so I will rely on luck and a lot of shots (and putting myself in situations in which good things might happen).
You know what Napoleon said: “I have plenty of clever generals, but just give me a lucky one.”
Why state that this is ‘clearly not a great or even good photo’? This photo has so much feeling in it. If you talk technical then it may be unsharp. Yet a sharp photo doesn’t automatical mean it is a good one.
love this picture! My teacher used to say you have planning and accidents… I myself love accidents because they are more telling, more creative. Keep it up and you become adept to staging your accidents 😉
So artistic! ! Nice!
Thanks. You’ve joined the growing chorus of people who have convinced me that the photo is a good one. I am glad you like it.
I’ll add my voice to the chorus too, Mike. Terrific action shot!
[…] featured a photo of Canada Geese coming in for an early morning water landing in a posting I called Photo Finish. So many people made positive comments about the photo that it prompted me to take another look at […]
Terrific post…
Thanks, Kate, for visiting my blog (and I am glad you like some of my recent postings).
Good reactions, both to make the image and save it. If you have enough memory cards don’t erase images in the camera. Take a look at them on your computer screen first and then decide. The elements of this image that make it interesting (the focal point, the amount of blur, the lines, etc.) would be very hard to discern on the back of the camera.
This is a great example of how you don’t need every element sharply rendered in order to convey the story of the moment. Our eyes and brain are very good a “filling in” the missing parts of wings, feathers, trees. This composition lets me take the story where I want.
You downplayed the image so much that I was stunned when it showed up on my screen. Absolutely thrilling!
It’s so strange how things work our. Sometimes photos look great on the back of the camera and then don’t look that good on the computer. This is a case when the opposite happened. Occasionally I get sucked into the widely shared idea that the best photos are the ones that are perfectly exposed and super sharp. The photo in question is one that goes against those “rules,” but creates an emotional impact to which people respond. Judging from the response I have received, it’s definitely a successful image.