Landing right in front of me

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Landing right in front of me

February 2, 2013 by Mike Powell

As the insistent honking got louder, I scanned the horizon for approaching geese and saw none.

Suddenly a pair of Canada Geese swooped over a nearby treeline and headed right at me as I stood on the boardwalk at my local marshland park. They were closing so quickly that it was hard to get my focus to lock on. At the same time I also had to adjust my zoom lens. Normally I photograph birds at the far end of my 55-250mm zoom lens, but the geese were filling up so much of the frame that I had to zoom out.

This is my best shot from the encounter. The goose and I were able to look each other straight in the eye at that moment. The background has a nice blur, because I was shooting at f5.6, and a fair amount of the goose is in focus. I like the goose’s position too as he strains forward in preparation for the water landing. (Click on the photo to see more details)

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, goose, Huntley Meadows Park, landing | 12 Comments

12 Responses

on February 2, 2013 at 6:14 am | Reply sethsnap

Wow. This is an amazing shot.
- on February 2, 2013 at 6:20 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Seth. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I like to watch the ducks and geese, but have never been able to get a shot at this angle.
on February 2, 2013 at 6:29 am | Reply anisjarossi

Great capture !
- on February 2, 2013 at 6:42 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. It was mostly luck to be in that location at the right moment (and I was happy to be able to take advantage of the moment).
on February 2, 2013 at 8:51 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

I laughed when i read this because I had two turkeys do the same thing to me in the woods last summer. The difference is that I didn’t have enough of my wits left to remeber that I was carrying a camera, and you did. And you got an amazing picture too!
- on February 2, 2013 at 2:41 pm | Reply Sue
  
  I have done that very same thing — sat with a camera in my lap — while a herd of wild horses crossed in front of our car out in the wilds of Nevada. On the other hand, even without the photos (or perhaps because of the lack of photos), I have vivid memories of the experience.
  
  So kudos to Mike for hitting the shutter release when he heard the birds coming!
on February 2, 2013 at 9:50 am | Reply uthamz

A beautiful shot !
Congrats, Mike !

utham
on February 2, 2013 at 10:33 am | Reply Vicki

great shot!
on February 2, 2013 at 3:58 pm | Reply lylekrahn

Great action. Oh the irony of trying to hard to get close to wildlife only to have something come too close!
- on February 2, 2013 at 6:39 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Ironic indeed. Of course, the good news is that the sharpness of my lens tends to be little better if I am not at maximum focal length. In the case of this photo, the depth of field probably should have been a little wider so that a bit more of the goose (including its visible) would have been in better focus.
on February 2, 2013 at 8:20 pm | Reply Lee

Looks like he is coming in with his landing gear down. Great shot.
- on February 2, 2013 at 10:08 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. He was definitely preparing for a splashdown and was trying to decelerate.