On rare occasions I can anticipate a photo opportunity as a series of actions seems to heading towards an inevitable conclusion. That was the case this past weekend.
The weather here has warmed up and the layer of ice on the ponds has started to melt a bit. I watched as a mixed group of Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks started walking across the iced-over beaver pond.
A duck walked past a branch sticking out from the ice and I thought I detected some water, suggesting to me that they were walking on thin ice. A goose (in the second photo) looked down at the ice and made a mental calculation that it was safe to cross. His calculations proved to be wrong as he broke through the ice and started to sink into the water. I caught his initial reaction in the third photo. I especially like the startled look in his eyes.
Without further delay, he flapped his wings and was able to lift himself out of the water. The photo I took of that moment is the first one shown on this blog posting and is my favorite. I am happy that I was able to capture a lot of the the details of the wings and of the ice. You can see, for example, the sheets of ice that have broken off on either side of the goose. I also like the sense of action in the position of the goose, a moment frozen in time (sorry about the obvious pun).
I always feel a little strange when I post a series of action shots in non-sequential order, but I worry that folks won’t stay around to see the dramatic conclusion if all they see is the first shot (which is not that exciting, but is an important part of the story). That is why I led with the conclusion, thereby giving away the end of the story. Maybe I need to employ the kind of techniques used in television, “Stay tuned as this goose rescues himself from the frozen waters of the pond…”
Breaking the ice
Testing the ice
Starting to go under
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Mike,
What a great series! And so funny, to think of a goose misjudging and falling through the ice 🙂 I love it!
~Kyle
Thanks, Kyle. Last month I was surprised to see geese just walking on ice.
I’ll bet that water was pretty cold-he doesn’t look at all happy.
It was probably bracing. Unfortunately people occasionally make that same mistake.
I Like these images very much, the first one is truly exceptional. Great job Mike!
Thanks. My timing happened to be good to capture the motion like that. It doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does, it feels really nice.
Very nice! I like the third one best for the look in his eyes.. great action shots, and its nice to know that he was able to get out of the water. thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Vicki. The eyes of the third one really do grab you–some moments it’s my favorite one too.
Catching the moment means great action shots with a story. Sometimes mixing up the order of the story actually makes it more interesting. I like the order you presented them.
Thanks. You’re someone who thinks a lot about the story line to capture your viewers’ attention–it’s an approach I try to emulate in some ways.
I always enjoy the obvious pun… and great capture too!
I thought of you over the holidays when I had a chance to photograph a five year old boy on Christmas day. If his parents let me, I may post a photo or two to let folks know that I am not completely averse to photographing people.
🙂