Goose Sliding in.....

[Mary Stamper]

I was on my favorite pond this weekend freezing my rear off when a pair of Canada Geese came in for a landing. These things are hilarious as they slide across the ice-covered surface! For a change, they were pretty close to me and oriented reasonably well, so I fired off a burst. Got a few good ones and some fantastic wing positions, but this one had the best orientation of the head in relation to the light (or so I think....we'll see if Artie likes it ;)



D2x
70-200@116mm
ISO 140
1/1000@f2.8

[Bonnie Block]

Well I like it, Mary!
I thinkit is so hard to get a fresh composition of a Canadian Goose--and you have one. The pose is great--open mouth gives this image a lot of character. Maybe if you could get a bit more detail to come out around its eye---but ...great image

[George DeCamp]

Safe! :D

I think this is a cute image. Nice expression and wing position on the bird too. Maybe you could clone out the little white spots to the left of it's head and above to the right.

A fun image!

[Maxis Gamez]

Hi Marty,

This is very unique. The pose works great and the wings are a nice plus. Excellent work

[Mary Stamper]

Thanks everyone! This was the lead goose of the two, and it (he?) was honking away like a freight train coming in, hence the open mouth. That tongue is pretty amazing when the photo is enlarged!

[Steve Canuel]

This is a great pic. Nice detail and colors and the expression on the face is priceless. Looks like he's screaming "whoaaaaaaaa". Made me laugh when I saw it.
Steve

[Anita Rakestraw]

Agree, this is a good catch and a fun one too! Everything about the goose says that these icy landings are not exactly ho-hum!

[Krijn Trimbos]

LOL hahaha, this is sooo funny! Love the pose, exposure looks good although the blacks on the neck could go a bit lighter, the blue ice is very nice as well. The tongue puts this over the top for me. I am not to fond of square crops, but here it seems to work. Did you see what it looks like with a more horizontal crop?

[Mary Stamper]

I was initially undecided about the best crop for this one. I tried horizontal (5x7 aspect ratio) and square and ultimately preferred the square because my eye seems to land directly on the goose and I was unable to find anything dynamic enough in the lines to carry me out into the far right side of the frame, even briefly. Some may like it vertical, but somehow my peripheral vision wanted a little more to the right of the head. Don't know that any of the three are wrong, just my preference.

I think I must be a medium-format shooter at heart, because I love square crops. Check out my "Calligraphy in Ice" photo in the macro/close-up forum for another square one. Square was however an "acquired" taste. I had to learn to see that way.

Again, thanks to everyone for looking. I'm glad you are all getting the same enjoyment that I got when I saw them come down. They really are hilarious. Now if only I could get one sliding like this next to the "Thin Ice - No Skating" sign that resides by the edge of the pond, but no such luck!

[Jose Suro]

Hilarious! And well shot too.

Best,

Jose

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

:)Nice timing and great details!

[Amy DeStefanis]

I love this! Definitely don't have a snowball's chance of getting anything like this here in Tampa. Great picture!