Incoming Snow Goose!!

This past Wednesday I got the chance to photograph the HUGE Snow Goose flock that hangs out at a reservoir in Victoriaville, Quebec. The numbers on a good day are estimated at 200,000+, with a hub of activity going on virtually all day long. Geese take off and land everywhere, offering almost non-stop action. The flocks arriving and departing are something to behold and not soon forgotten (sights AND sounds...WOW!!!)

A special thanks to Yves Matteau for all your help!!

Canon 40D + 100-400L at 365mm, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/2000s., f/7.1, ISO 400 (histogram checked), natural light, handheld, just about FF! (slight crop for comp)

Everything looks right on the money to me. It is a real "in your face" attention grabber. I hope you ducked after firing off this shot! Very nicely done.

Daniel:

Nice techs, DOF, flared primaries and feet.

Do the snow geese stay there for a long period of time, or are they just moving through?

Cheers

Randy

Thanks!

Randy, they stay there for about a month or two every year (roughly mid-October to mid November/early December) and then contunue their journey south...

That is just a fantastic capture, especially the amount of detail in the white feathers and the sharp in-your-face pose. Big congrats. JR

Absolutely first class, it's a gem! The exposure is spot on - I normally meter from grass then a few grab shots to check the histogram for shots like this - was this your starting point?

Superb, all is so well here. This shot is one of your finer IMO, Congrats to you. I really learn so much as you methodically explain your shot preparation, plan... Also, would you consider writing more about the geese? I have never yet been in a flock of more than a hundred. I'm trying to imagine what wondrous things happen in such a place, amongst 200,000 birds...
thank you, ann

Stunning head on shot.

Hey Daniel, a fabulous photograph. Love the wing positions and straight-on view. Well done!

Glad to see, Daniel, that you had a wonderful trip to Victo and enjoyed the day with my brother.So bad i had this bad health conditions that prevent me to be with you.
Weather and health permitting i intend to go on next tuesday and wednesday.
Hope to see you next time.

By the way, very nice picture of the snow goose and very unusual look,

Yves

Daniel, Sounds like a wonderful experience and you made the most of it. Fantastic incoming shot. Beautiful whites and details.

Excellent exposure and sharpness, and I like head on approach. Good all round detail too.

PErfect exp and insanely good head on angle. Well done mate. :)

Hats off for this one. As expected from you...perfect. Love the whites.

Thanks everyone!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jonathan Ashton

Absolutely first class, it's a gem! The exposure is spot on - I normally meter from grass then a few grab shots to check the histogram for shots like this - was this your starting point?

---

Jonathan, there were geese pretty much everywhere just floating on the water so I metered off one that was close-by. Histogram pushed to the right, and with the constant light, good to go...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by annmpacheco

Superb, all is so well here. This shot is one of your finer IMO, Congrats to you. I really learn so much as you methodically explain your shot preparation, plan... Also, would you consider writing more about the geese? I have never yet been in a flock of more than a hundred. I'm trying to imagine what wondrous things happen in such a place, amongst 200,000 birds...
thank you, ann

---

Hi Ann, these geese use a reservoir as a staging area on their way down south. They spend the nights on the water, and when morning comes they take-off to go feed in fields. Impressive sight to say the least. A few hours later they start arriving in wave upon wave of goose-clouds dropping from the sky, back into the water to spend the day again. Just as impressive as take-offs.

Once in a while a large group of those geese suddenly take off, noisily circle above for a minute or two, then land again. Usually this happens when something such as an airplane flying overhead startles them. During the whole day, some geese arrive and leave continually so on a good day (which I had) there is action all day long.

The 3 1/2 minute video here was taken at the very spot I was at. This was basically filmed from the parking lot :-) Although impressive from the start, it is especially so during the last half....should give you an good idea of what it is like!!

Awesome, awesome video-TFS. I bet you have so many images to go through from the day.

I love to see the video of the situation that you were shooting in.

But having seen it, how on earth did you manage to get a clean sky behind your landing bird?

The image is superb by the way.

Truly and Splendid are the only words I can find.

It must be a marvelous spectacle to witness.

Very interesting flight position Daniel! I like the wing positon and coming at you look to this one.

Superb, Daniel. I am waiting for them to arrive here.

Loved the pose and the whites.

Daniel, thanks so much for sharing the video, brought tears to my eyes! Ann

Daniel I have allways been fascinated with Snow Geese and the mass gatherings. Thanks for the explanation, 200,000 birds !, nothing like that here.

I like the different approach and position of the bird and of course exposure light and sharpness is excellent.Thanks also for the shooting info - good learning points.

akos when you say 365mm i would say i'll def. love to see this image all the 365 days in early morning to start a day. i find it really soothing to my eyes to start a nice day and thats what i will look for a frame that gives please. Thanks for sharing dude.

Nice head on image...great dof and sharpness, very nice wing position...

Love this one Dan. Beautiful exposure, great feather details and eye contact. I wish that I could have gone with you but maybe next time.