PHOTOGRAPH INFO

I got another opportunity with Snow Geese on Monday morning - about 10,000 of them landed in my neighbor's field at 8 a.m. I could hear their collective honking inside my house!

It was a dreary morning so I upped the ISO to 1600 for the greatest depth and fastest shutter. I got within 50 yards of the birds -- then they took off to the next set of fields.

It's a similar shot to the first one but a faster shutter makes a big difference in the details. Plus there are a lot more birds!

Next year I'll have a longer lens. :)

(There's one population of Greater Snow Geese in the world - about 800,000 of them altogether. They breed in the Arctic and winter in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. They migrate along the North American Atlantic flyway at this time of year.)

Camera settings and post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D and the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens at 200mm, ISO 1600, f/9, shutter 1/1000s. Curves adjustments, color balancing.

Thank you for visiting Durham Township!

--Kathleen

Wow, that is unreal, would have loved to have been there. You captured a very powerful and beautiful moment.

Oh my goodness, this is amazing.

They missed you while you were at the Chesapeake
Bay last Sunday, so they decided to stop by your
home, sing their song, pose, and know you would
have a lovely photo for your viewers.

Kathleen,
It looks like you have even outdone Nat'l Geographic this time. Outstanding photo! My compliments on all your work. I keep thinking your next photo can't get better but it does.
Thanks for the committment to excellence.
Vince P.

I can't believe you have so improved on the other (wonderful) shot.

It's hard to imagine this is real. I especially love the deep blue tones in the top portion of the frame.

I am astounded!

Great shot! I love photographing the snow geese! Don't you love the noise when they take off? There squawking and their wings? There was a huge flock on Merrill Creek last night, we could hear them but it was too dark to go up for a photo.

So,so many. I prefer the earlier goose shot because I think it better captures the action. To bad the flying fertilizer factories make such a mess when they linger long.

And to comment on the "What is this?" question.... Kathleen is running low on regular material so she had to dig up three stooges!

Betty: Yes, the noise is unbelievably loud and gorgeous! I want to post a video next time so everyone can hear it, too.

Another amazing thing: after they take off, there are thousands of tiny white feathers and feather pieces floating around in the air, and they stay aloft for quite awhile if there's a breeze, so it seems like it's lightly snowing.

I love Merrill Creek.

JPH: All cornfields need fertilizer! They left surprisingly little, though.

Three stooges? I'm perplexed!

Stunning. I like the snow clumps in the cut corn that have 'bodies' shaped like geese - I had to really look to see who had flown off and who was hanging 'round. The three levels in the composition with the near field, far field, then the horizon makes this image. Bravo!

Okay now I can't stop looking at this -- those really are geese in the field? Not snow clumps? We need an ultra-large version!!!

Betsy: There's no snow on the ground up here right now.

Here's an XL version for you:
http://www.durhamtownship.com/January2908.xl.html

This is truly beautiful. How lucky to have caught them just as they were taking off!!!
Love the contrast of the dark sky and trees against the white and gold. Almost looks as if it's snow - falling up instead of down.
Thanks for sharing!

Between these guys and the Canada geese, it's a regular "goose-a-palooza" in these parts, especially this time of year.
I've witnessed massive gaggles like this (a "gaggleplex," if you will) flying over Mercer County in New Jersey, usually around the winter solstice. It's an astounding sight as is this shot!

I can attest to Kathleen's photo and level of noise. They were flying over my house all weekend. This field is directally behind the town of Riegelsville where I live and it was so loud that you would think they were right in you own back yard. Great Shot!

Great capture and information. So many! I like the white against the brown field merging into the white against the dark sky.

TJS: I saw the birds in the Riegelsville field last week but didn't attempt to photogrpah them there. This shot was taken at Marschewski's farm yesterday.

Kathleen - From Webster's Encylcopedic Unabridged Dictionary.... stooge n. 2. slang. any underling, assistant, or accomplice. Maybe I'll be able to come up with something better but it was early.

Unreal! Now I see their little eyes! You got me on that one, KC

As a strong overall design, I agree with JPH on the earlier goose shooting. The balance of the warms, neutrals and cool hues are remarkable in both images. Make a great pair of prints and this latter capture would be completely mesmerizing at 24x36....or beyond.

Kathleen, JPH is refering to the "Jurassic Art" with the "whats this" comment--I think.

Beautiful composition, Kathleen. The relatively monochromatic color palette makes this a winner.

This is amazing. The contrast between the geese and the field and trees is wonderful. I like how you composed it with the geese flying toward the upper left corner of the photo.

Speechless. Thank you for sharing this image with the rest of us!

wow! I too wish I'd been there, and I wish I could have got a photo as well.
Stunning! and I too love the dark background, and the massive amount of white-ness/

This is ridiculously perfect.

Like lighning the snow geese strike twice. I'm sure you had plenty of shots left in your camera this time. Outstanding.

I was walking my dogs in my back yard - which at the rear looks right at the field where all the geese were landing. It really was a spectacle to behold, and it was one of the few times that my dogs were looking up at the sky watching the birds come in for their landings as the gathering got larger. At one point there was a disturbance and a tremendous plume of geese burst into the sky - you could hear all the feathers flapping - it almost sounded like a muted helicopter take off. Maybe that was the moment that you got really close Kathleen! Anyway this photograph captures the scene wonderfully. I dared not venture any closer with my dogs because I didn't want to cause "liftoff" of such a large gathering of geese. Anyway, keep up the great work photography wise. Whenever folks from other parts of the country want to know what it is like in "greater Riegelsville" I recommend Kathleen's site and invite them to browse.

What a collection! Love the colour and detail.

I too live in Durham between the two field mentioned and I have a sun porch with a metal roof. The sight and sounds were to be remembered, but you could hear the droppings hitting the metal roof as they were overhead. I LOVE YOU SITE and the photos are fantastic!! THANKS for posting you art.

Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor...that's better.

I am truly in awe of this spectacular scene.

I saw the "Betsy version" on a 24'screen and WOW! Like a View Master 3-D stereoscope, as if I could just lean forward into the space between the frozen geese.

Thanks for letting Betsy order an extra large with "Snow Geese" topping......(just checked again and it's still hot!)

ive never seen anything like this....amazing!!!

Wow! Amazing capture!

Wow Kathleen. Just wow!

Amazing! Does this take place every year? Thanks for sharing this!

Wow ! So many geese !

Wow! That is really rather beautiful!!