Golden Goose

[Julie Kenward]

I was down at a local lake last night trying to practice my bird-in-flight images. I'm still struggling with these but I think I'm making progress. Last night I caught this one on the north side of the lake as the goose was heading east and got some nice (but uneven) side lighting. I just wish I'd had a little more shutter speed to really freeze the action and maybe a better HA, too.

Canon 40D, EF 70-200mm f/4L & 1.4 TC
f5.6 @ 1/320th, ISO 400
Manual mode, handheld, pattern metering
Sunny WB, no flash

Processed in ACR & CS4; pano crop, sharpening, levels adjustment, slight increase in saturation

[Dan Brown]

Nice attempt and "golden light" under the wing Julie. I like the inclusion of the foot splash on the right but it kind of puts the bird in the center. Maybe taking a bit off the left side would help this? (a tough call for me?). You are right about the HA. If the bird was angled toward you, the HA would have been ok. With the close wing in front of the far wing, we deduce that the bird is angled away:p. I don't mind a bit of blur at the wing tips, looks like good motion.

[denise ippolito]

Julie, The image looks small and is hard to see detail in the head, agree with Dan if the bird was angled toward you it might have a better head angle- As presented I love the colors !! The composition seems to be tight for a more scenic bird image. Very nice action stopped and I like the water droplets- You almost nailed this one!

[Lance Peters]

Hi julie - need a get out of jail free card ??? Agree with all of the above, he has flown past you and angled away from you - just about the opposite of what you want.

But I like the composition and the golden water - looking forward to seeing more :)

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Julie,
I too agree with the techs. and the good advise given, my suggestion would be to add a tad of canvas on top, the wings are too tight in frame and the bird needs room for lift off...I like that golden light and the splash trail left behind...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[Alfred Forns]

Just the little angle Jules but love it as presented, do like the room up front for the bird to move into and what a feel !!

btw if the bird was turned even more away from the plain would have worked great .... nothing wrong with a bird moving out !!!

[Jackie Schuknecht]

If only the goose had been flying towards you Jules, would have been perfect. The lighting and the light on the wing is so beautiful. Still small jpegs for presenting!!!!!