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Posts Tagged ‘Branta canadensis’

Sound the alarm

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 31, 2012| 1 Comment »

We have had temperatures below freezing most nights recently and many of the ponds at my local marshland are now covered with a thin sheet of ice. I was a little shocked today to see that ducks and geese continue to fly in and out of the pond, in some cases landing on the ice itself (some of the birds find areas that are not frozen over in which to land).

I am working on a number of photos showing these migrating birds on ice, but I thought I’d share this initial image. The goose to the left seemed to be sounding the alarm, signalling the others that it was time to fly away. As you can see from his open mouth, he was honking loudly and was flapping his wings. If you focus your attention on his feet, it looks like he may be slipping on the ice as a result of his vigorous actions. The two geese in the background appear to be ignoring him and all of his noise, although they may have joined him when he took off a few seconds later.

alarm

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Three’s company

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on December 31, 2012| 2 Comments »

This past weekend I spent some more time watching migrating geese and and attempting to photograph them in flight. Often the geese flew in large formations, though sometimes they would arrive and depart in pairs. As I looked overt my photos, though, my favorite photos of the day feature geese trios.

I love shots like these in which it’s fun to compare the positions of the different birds, and the degree to which they are synchronizing or varying their body positions and wing movements. Each of these photos seems to form a mini-progression within itself, as though they were made up of multiple exposures of a single bird.

goose triogoose trio 2

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sleeping in the moonlight

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

This past Friday I was up before the dawn to try to photograph the almost-full moon and already posted some photos of the moonlight reflected in the water and of the sunrise. As I was making my way along the boardwalk in the marsh, I saw that geese were asleep in the fields. With my camera on a tripod, I took some photos. This was shot at ISO100, f11, and a 25 second exposure. I like the fact that the moonlight was strong enough to cause a reflection in the water and illuminated what looks to be a thin sheet of ice on the water.

Goose asleep in the moonlight

Goose asleep in the moonlight

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Splashdown

Posted in Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 28, 2012| 1 Comment »

I haven’t been out shooting in nature for almost a week, so I ventured out into my marshland park early this morning. I have not yet had a chance to go through all of my shots, but I knew I really liked this one as soon as I took it and did a quick review on the LCD of my camera.

I found myself in a good position when several Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) were coming in for a water landing and was able to track them and get a good focus. The buffer of my camera fills up pretty fast, so I didn’t want to start shooting too early. Just before they hit the water, I snapped off a few exposures and managed to get this shot in which one of the geese has landed and created a splash.  A goose in the foreground is landing in the midst of the splashing water. My shutter speed (1/320 sec) was fast enough to freeze most of the motion, with the exception of a slightly blurred wing. I like the blurry wing and thing it helps give the sense of motion, as do the droplets of water.

I have been trying to shoot a scene like this for quite some time and think that this is my best result to date. (I recommend clicking on the image to get a higher resolution view.)

Splashdown

Splashdown

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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A few more migrating geese

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on December 26, 2012| 1 Comment »

As of last week, Canada Geese continued to populate the pond and fields of my local marshland pond in great numbers. Many were engaged in foraging for food, but some look like they have been assigned sentinel duty. The photos are pretty self-explanatory—I’ll let them speak for themselves and make this posting short.

Goose in waterSentinel goosegoose_grass_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Takeoff variations

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on December 23, 2012| 2 Comments »

I keep trying to photograph geese and  ducks taking off and landing, using a variety of techniques. Normally I will try to catch the birds in flight, though sometimes I have trouble getting my lens to acquire focus quickly enough. I stumbled onto a panning technique when I tried to photograph geese landing in the early morning. This weekend I experimented using both techniques.

I took this first shot when several geese took off without warning almost directly in front of me. I didn’t intend to cut off the goose to the left, but I like the effect of him entering into the frame. In this image, the action is completely frozen.

Geese takeoff

Geese takeoff

The second image is an example of the panning technique. The geese are not quite in as sharp focus as I would have liked, but you can see some details. I like the way that the background is blurred and provides a sense of motion. This panning was much more deliberate than the photos that I posted previously with motion blur.

Geese liftoff

Geese liftoff

It’s so much fun experimenting with different techniques—photography is still new enough to me that I often feel like a little kid on a voyage of discovery.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Spectator for a landing

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on December 22, 2012| 2 Comments »

Yesterday I spent some time watching geese and ducks at the marsh. I thought that the numbers would drop as the weather gets cold, but there actually seem to be more than there were in November, especially the geese. Once again I have been trying to take in-flight shots of these migratory birds, especially when they are taking off and landing.

I like the contrast in this photo between the impassive female Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos), who seems only mildly curious about the activity taking place right in front of her, and the two Canada Geese (Branta canadensis), who are making big splashes and generating waves as they land. They look like they could be a synchronized swimming pair, though I think in that sport you lose points if you make big splashes. In the background you can see some of the fields of cattails at the marsh, as well as some additional geese in the distance foraging in the fields and in the water.

Impassive observer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Photo finish

Posted in Art, Birds, commentary, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on December 17, 2012| 22 Comments »

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

Photo finish

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Honk if you like geese

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged , , , , , on November 25, 2012| 5 Comments »

I continue my quest to capture birds in flight and geese continue to be a favorite subject. They are loud and big and fly slowly enough for me to have a fighting chance of capturing a decent image. That is not to say, however, that it’s been easy to photograph geese in flight. There are so many variables that I can’t control, particularly the direction of the geese in relation to the sun. Ideally the sun would illuminate the underside of the geese, rather than hiding parts of the body in dark shadows.

One morning earlier this weekend, conditions were relatively favorable and I was able to photograph these Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) as they flew by me. I like the different positions of the wings on each goose at the moment of the photo—it looks to me almost like a multiple exposure image, intended to show the flight of a single goose in stop=action.

Canada Geese in flight

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Profile of a goose

Posted in Birds, commentary, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 24, 2012| 4 Comments »

The Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) continue to make migratory stops at Huntley Meadows Park, the local marshland in which I have been taking a lot of photos recently and I have been able to observe them closely. I am always struck by their beautifully expressive eyes, which seem to reflect an inner gentleness.

The old proverb says that the eyes of the mirror of the soul. I have been told from the outset that I should always strive to have the eyes in focus when I am photographing people and animals. As far as I can tell, that’s one of the few rules of photography that is almost never broken.

How often do you make eye contact with other people? I am amazed at how infrequently people acknowledge the presence of others by looking into their eyes. It was one of the biggest adjustments I had to make when I left military service, in which you saluted and greeted everyone in uniform that you passed. So often people pass each other without any visual signal that they recognize the presence of other sentient being. Needless to say, I am not a fan of wearing headphones in public.

People may think that you are a little strange, but I encourage you to look others in the eye and smile and greet them—it’s amazing how their attitude and expressions change.

Profile of a Canada Goose

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Resting goose

Posted in Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on November 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

When migrating geese land at my local marsh, most of them spend their time foraging for food, storing up energy for the next leg of their trip. This Canada Goose, however, seemed to have decided to rest a bit to regain his strength and secluded himself from the feverish activity of the other geese. His position is not that unusual, but his surroundings make this photo stand out for me. The colors contrast nicely with the black of his head and I really like the reflections. Click on the photo if you would like to see it in higher resolution.

Canada Goose at rest

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Flying geese redux

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 20, 2012| 3 Comments »

Geese and ducks continue to arrive and depart with such frequency in my local marsh that I feel like I am in a major bird airport. Fortunately, there are no long lines or security checks for them to endure. We must have a special arrangement with our northern neighbors, for the Canada Geese are not subject to any special customs scrutiny.

I continue to try to take photos of the geese while they are in flight, usually when the are coming in to land or taking off. Often the geese will circle around and honk loudly to announce their arrival (a kind of bird intercom system). Perhaps the birds on the ground can interpret the honks to mean something like, “Now arriving on pond number one, Canada Geese flight number one from Toronto.” My first photo is one of a Canada Goose banking. No, he is not at an ATM machine, withdrawing cash. He is making a sharp turn as he prepares to land.

Banking goose

The second photo shows a goose in flight. If you click on the photo, you will notice that the goose has a zen-like look of contentment on is his face. Scientists have been working on implanting a tiny device into geese that will provide them an in-flight entertainment package (and autopilot features too) and this goose may be one of the early test subjects.

Goose in flight

Some geese hate to fly alone and prefer companionship during the long flight. A new business has sprung up that provides escort service for the lonely goose, a fledgling matchmaking company that is just getting off of the ground. The company’s contracts are full of fine print about additional charges, but some geese continue to be surprised with the bill they are presented at their final destination.

Lonely goose escort service

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Heron and goose interactions

Posted in Art, Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 17, 2012| 7 Comments »

It is always interesting for me to see two species interact—you never quite know what will happen. Last Sunday, I was in the bushes in a local suburban pond area, pretty close to a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). He seemed to be willing to tolerate my presence, though there were a lot of bushes that kept me from getting a clear shot. I photographed several encounters between the heron and Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) that live semi-permanently at the pond.

I took the first photo just after the heron made a threatening gesture with his beak at a goose that must have invade his personal space. The goose appears to have gotten the message and looks to be exiting the area. At the time of the shot, the sun was bright and was reflecting off the water, somehow turning it almost turquoise in color. The branches of the bush get in the way a little, but don’t detract too much from the charm of the photo. The whole effect is to make the image look almost as much like an illustration as a photograph.

“I need my personal space.”

The second photo is much less action oriented and is a study in contrasts. The goose seems to be looking at the heron with wonderment and curiosity, while the heron seems to be cool and disinterested. The background reminds me a little of a psychedelic image from the 1960’s.

“How did you grow to be so tall?”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Goose textures

Posted in Birds, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged , , , , , , on November 17, 2012| 8 Comments »

What strikes you first when you look at a photo? Is it the color, the composition, the lighting, or some other aspect? When I first looked at this close-up photo of a Canada Goose foraging as it took a break from its migratory flying, it was the contrast in textures that grabbed my eyes. When I see these geese from a distance, I tend to see them in solid blocks of color, such as a black and white face. A closer examination reveals details like the shininess of the eyes and the beak, the burlap-like texture of the white portion of the face, and the multicolored beauty of the feathers.

What other details do I miss each day, because I fail to look closely enough?

Goose textures

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Geese in late afternoon light

Posted in Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 16, 2012| 3 Comments »

The light was sinking lower in the sky late this afternoon when I took this photo of two Canada geese (Branta canadensis) in the still waters of a little pond. The light was beautiful, as are the reflection of various parts of the scene in the water. If you click on the photo, you can see a higher resolution view of the scene. To use the term of a fellow blogger, Steve Schwartzman, I consider this photo to be a “semi-landscape.”

Geese in late afternoon light

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Geese in flight

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 13, 2012| 5 Comments »

Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) continue to stop in at my local marshland (Huntley Meadows Park) as they migrate to unknown destinations. Sometimes they come in large groups, though most often I have seen them come in small groups of two to  six geese. I watched them for quite some time during this sunny weekend, and it seems that they spend most of their time on the ground foraging for food or simply relaxing and grooming themselves.

I’ve tried to take photos of the geese when they are flying and have found that this is much more challenging than I had anticipated. Lighting is perhaps the biggest issue, but the speed and direction of the geese is an almost equal problem—profile shots are great, but their relative speed seems fastest when they are moving perpendicular to the camera direction. Camera settings are sometimes hard to choose and adjust, especially when the geese decide at the spur of the moment that it’s a good time to take off. As I’ve found out repeatedly, the settings appropriate for taking photos of the geese in the water are not appropriate for geese in the air.

Here are some of my photos of geese in flight from this past weekend. As you can see, the weather was sunny and the skies were blue.  I am still working on my techniques, but I like the results so far (though I wouldn’t dare reveal how many shots I attempted in my quest to capture the geese in flight). If you click on the photos, you can see a few more details in a higher resolution view.

Migrating Canada Goose

Soaring Canada Goose

Climbing Canada Goose

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Racing geese

Posted in Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on November 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Here’s one last photo of the geese from last weekend, possibly my favorite shot. I like the fact that it shows geese in action—the geese look like they are having a race across the water, though I think they had just landed and were slowing down. The colorful fall foliage and its reflection in the water add interest too. Somehow the picture works well for me as an autumn landscape. (Be sure to click on it to see a higher resolution view.)

Geese racing in the fall

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dipping, dripping geese

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Uncategorized, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 1, 2012| 4 Comments »

Last week I encountered Canada geese twice. The first time was when a few migrating ones made a brief stop at a local marsh. The second time was at a suburban pond where the geese seem to be semi-permanent residents. I had a great time observing and photographing the geese in the latter venue and have a couple of photos this morning of geese dipping their heads into the water. I couldn’t tell for sure if they were grabbing for  plants underwater, drinking, or doing something else. Often they would submerge just their heads and blow bubbles in the water and then, as in the second photo, just let the water dribble out of their mouths.

Synchronized swimming geese

Dripping, dipping goose

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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T’ai chi geese

Posted in Birds, Humor, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on October 30, 2012| 9 Comments »

This morning, we continue to assess the damage from Hurricane Sandy here in the Washington, D.C. area, mainly downed trees and flooded roads. Perhaps we can draw inspiration from these geese, who are engaging in a rarely seen version of t’ai chi, seeking to achieve balance. This ancient martial art can be practiced on land or in the water—the water variant is especially appropriate for a time of reflection.

T’ai chi goose

Water t’ai chi—a reflective pose

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Geese bath time

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 29, 2012| 2 Comments »

It looked like it was bath time for the Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) in a local pond and they seemed to be having fun playing in the water (and occasionally stopping to groom themselves). The geese were exuberantly beating the water with their wings, creating giant clouds of water droplets. It reminded me of trying to give a bath to a two year old child, who splashes almost as much—the only thing missing was the yellow rubber duck. Some of the geese would then rise up in the water a bit and flap their wings, presumably to dry them, and then get soaked all over again. Perhaps they were following the instructions on the shampoo bottle, “Lather, rinse, and repeat.”

I managed to get a couple of fun shots in which the goose’s head is in focus, but the wings are a blur—I think the effect is kind of cool.

Splish, splash, I was taking a bath

Ruffling some feathers

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Canada Geese flying

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on October 26, 2012| 8 Comments »

A trio of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) paid a short visit today to my local marsh at Huntley Meadows Park. I suspect they are migrating, though I am not sure about that. They announced their arrival loudly and circled around before landing, so I had time to attempt some shots. I don’t have much experience in photographing birds in flight, but had limited success, as you can see in these shots. I could not get all three of them close enough to each other in the frame, so you only see two at a time. In case you wonder, the day was extremely overcast and there was not much sunlight—that is why the sky looks white in some of the photos.

This is the kind of photo that I want to be able to take, so today was good practice for me. I can tell I still need a lot of practice in tracking birds in the air.

Geese in flight at Huntley Meadows Park

Geese circling for a landing

Geese in flight during the fall

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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