Goose and Gosling

Gallery: AvianPosted November 17, 2013118 views7 comments

20,000 to 35,000 Giant Canada Geese reside in Rochester, Minnesota, at its peak in November each year, and many remain all year. This goose and her gosling were photographed at the local nature center in late April.

The overcast sky explains the dim colors, which I tried to brighten up. Foliage to the right was cropped out, as it seemed to distract from the subject. I would like to have to captured the entire goose, but her right side was cramped against a sapling. Also, her bill and the down in the foreground don't seem as sharp as I would like.

Please critique and comment.

Equipment: Pentax K100, DA 55-300mm at 150mm, tripod

Exposure: 1/90s, f/6.7, iso 400

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on November 17, 2013 at 11:17 AM

Wonderful image, great job!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 17, 2013 at 6:14 PM

This is a tough one to pull off focus wise, Randy. To get close enough to have the chick of any reasonable size in the frame, you're going to have a limited dof. If they were holding really still, I suppose you could try a focus stack. Other than that, the best you can do is a compromise focal plane that gets as much critical stuff as possible in reasonable focus. I don't know ht e situation, but if you could have moved a bit to the right so the adults head and the chick were in the same plane relative to your camera, it might have worked. Still, the smaller image works well and you don't start to notice issues until the larger image is opened. You also have a great "cute" factor that always helps make an image appealing.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on November 17, 2013 at 6:59 PM

Thanks for the comments, Craig and Dennis. There should be many goose and gosling photo opportunities in Spring 2014. Unless the images come out in full focus, focus stacking is a technique that I may try.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments

Comment posted by Tjie Poo on November 18, 2013 at 1:03 AM

Very nice interaction shot Randy ! Actually I like the composition as it is. Capturing the entire goose will decrease the dramatic impact of the whole picture. The bright white on the breast is a bit overpowering and it would be nice to have a bit catch light on the goose, maybe try to experiment by using a fill flash ?

Registered on December 4, 2012, 51 Posts, 511 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on November 18, 2013 at 7:07 AM

Tij, the fill flash is a good idea. The sky was overcast, so the flash would bring out some details in the goose and gosling. I'll try that in the spring if the conditions are similar to what they were when this photo was taken.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on November 19, 2013 at 8:24 PM

Very cute shot, soft works here..
I like it

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Sandy Scott on December 7, 2013 at 2:26 PM

Great shot!

Registered on December 6, 2013, 85 Posts, 345 Comments