Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, breaking the ice, Canon 50D, Kingstowne, Larus delawarensis, on thin ice, Ring-billed Gull, Tamron 150-600mm on January 27, 2019| 12 Comments »
There was a sheet of ice in the center of the pond, but I had no idea how thin it was until a Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) that I was watching fell through the ice. I captured this little series of shots as the gull scrambled to regain its footing. Undeterred by its brief contact with the frigid water, the gull continued its solitary march across the ice, although it did seem to move a bit more slowly and cautiously.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Branta canadensis, breaking the ice, Canada Goose, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, thin ice on January 8, 2013| 13 Comments »
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 