Kathleen Sewell
About the Image(s)
I love visiting the nearby wetlands and seeing our snow geese every winter. The sound of thousands of snow geese taking off is astounding! This small group was enjoying a peaceful morning in the sun before beginning the activities of the day.
Focal Length - 300mm
Shutter Speed - 1/1000 second
F-stop - f/10
IS0 - 3200
Lightroom editing ~ lowered highlights, increased shadows a little, added a small amount of texture, clarity and denoise.
8 comments posted
Kathleen - Kudos on this truly excellent shot; it's simple, yet it's also complex, which makes it interesting. Your crop is ideal for this subject(s), and reflections always make for interesting images. The one 'improvement' if possible, would be to go back and try to get a similar shot with some of the subjects facing towards the camera. As it is, only two of the birds are facing within 90* of the camera and none are looking into your lens. I realize wildlife doesn't pose, but this is the type of scene where you can take a lot of images and then review them on your screen at home. I feel with just a couple of birds looking into the lens the image would pop a lot more - still you captured a lovely scene.   Posted: 02/06/2025 16:27:12
Thank you Butch! Yes, I agree with your suggestion to have more direct eye contact from the birds. Next time I will keep a closer eye on their eyes! ;)   Posted: 02/06/2025 18:33:35
Hi Kathleen. I like your photo; the mirror is great. I'm with Butch, that a portrait - if human or animal - should show the eyes. The more, the better. Not always successful and, like everything in photography, with many exceptions! In this case only a few of them will be sufficant!   Posted: 02/06/2025 19:41:03
Kathleen, if I am going to photograph a flock of bird, I have to consider how long am I willing to wait! And then take hundreds of photos. The good news is that we are not paying for film.   Posted: 02/07/2025 21:13:36
Thank you Kathleen for showing us these wonderful birds in such soft lights. To have more eye contact you can try to play a call sign from a bluetooth speaker to get their attention.   Posted: 02/09/2025 09:28:38
I did spend time waiting for the birds to look my way. Thank you for your suggestion of playing a call to get their attention if needed. I have the Merlin Bird App but had not thought of this!   Posted: 02/10/2025 16:34:58
From webpage: https://xeno-canto.org/ you can download many bird call and song.   Posted: 02/10/2025 16:59:19
Thank you, Dr.Ernoe!   Posted: 02/10/2025 18:42:07