Tag Archives: geese

A continuing quest to photograph the geese hiding at Fallis pond.        

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I am getting frustrated. I visited Fallis pond yesterday afternoon for another attempt at photographing the geese.

I know there are lots of geese because I can see their wily heads peaking over the hills above the pond before they quickly and stealthily disappear from sight.

This time I asked my friend Jo McAvany to go with me. Her eyes are 40 years younger than mine and I had hopes that she would see geese that I could not.

She had my Tamron 150-600mm lens mounted on her Nikon and I was trying a Sigma 150-500mm that had just come into my shop. I figured there’d be a better chance to get some photographs with two of us.

My friend Ken Tiessen says about geese, “they don’t like us” and I guess he may be right when it comes to those that nest along that pond.

We slowly drove my Honda beside the pond. It was quiet except for a few ducks playfully splashing along the far shore and there were pleasant welcoming sounds from a few Yellow-Headed black birds perched in the reeds. But no warnings or welcomes from the geese.

Both Jo and I had our super zooms at f/8 and we upped our ISO so we could follow that old photographer’s telephoto lens rule that says, “Match your shutterspeed with the longest focal length of your lens”. Jo was crouched in the passenger seat using a beanbag on the window to rest her lens. And I would slowly sneak out and hide behind the car and shoot over the roof.

As I read what I just wrote I am thinking we were absolutely ready to get some great shots. Ahh…but here is the rub. The geese have to cooperate and actually let us take their photographs.

We waited and watched. Then suddenly Jo spotted two adults with some goslings swimming just behind some reeds on the far side. (I knew I could depend on her young eyes) Those geese were partially hidden, but we pointed our cameras in their direction and released our camera’s shutters anyway.

More waiting.

Finally, they came out for a swim as if there was nothing in the world to bother them. They paraded on the pond for a short distance and then were again hidden by the thick pond reeds. But we got some photos. Not many, but some.

To finish the evening we each took a few pictures of the ducks and birds on and around the pond, then headed home to load out images on our computers.

Jo stopped at my place on her way home and we celebrated our limited success with a glass of wine while listening to the Bee Gees on my CD player.

Ok, that was not such a big deal. But I like wine and I like the Bee Gees, and we each got a couple good photos.

In my opinion it doesn’t get much better than that.

Photographing Fallis Pond on a warm spring evening.  

Posted by enmanscamera on

I had been wondering how the pond up the road from my home was changing since my visit was only two weeks ago when the geese and ducks were wandering around on a thin layer of ice.

At that time the surrounding fields were beginning to turn green and the pond inhabitants seemed ready for spring. On that visit, other than a noisy goose on hill warning everyone of my presence, the pond was quiet.

This time I had checked my Honda’s manual and there wasn’t a stealth mode. But I suspected the geese would be hidden away nesting and doubted there would be any birds at all to photograph.

As I stopped at the pond and rolled down my window I was bombarded by a cacophony of sound. The sounds were not so much a warning as a celebration.

I pulled the car around and stopped at a high flat spot on the road so I would be out of danger from country drivers more intent on getting home along the winding road than watching for a parked car.

Although I had my camera and lens ready I just sat for a while listening to the discordant music of that country pond. There must have been hundreds of singing birds hidden out of sight.

As for the geese, I could see a few searching heads in the distance and there was only one big fellow guarding by the fence line.

The sun was low and the pond was reflecting colors that ducks swam through.

Not wanting to return with an empty memory card I took the opportunity to photograph two geese I spotted huddled close by and a bird or two perched on lifeless reeds still poking out along the pond’s edge.

I could have sat there till dark enjoying the evening concert, but I decided to head home, driving slowly in hopes of seeing other subject in the fading light.

I’ll return in a week or two just to keep up with the changes. There won’t be goslings or ducklings for me to photograph for about 30 days, but I the pond is only a short drive from my home, and I am sure there will be lots of “spring” opportunities to photograph as I wait.

I headed to Vancouver this past weekend with my camera. The substantial change of scenery was invigorating. I went with 3 friends and took the chance to wander the coast for some late afternoon. Ahh….the exciting life of a photographer.

My first geese photos of the year.  

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The ice has been melting along the river all week long and I wondered if the pond up on Duck Range had melted enough for the geese to return.

The days have been warm, but the nights were staying at freezing or near freezing. However, in spite of the day’s constant drizzle of cool rain I was curious to see if there were geese on the pond and if there were any goslings yet.

I suspected I was early, but grabbed my camera, put the ISO up to 800, then mounted my 150-600mm on it, tossed the beanbag on the front seat of my car and headed out up the road to see.

I slowed down just before getting to the pond and rolled my window down. Hmmm, there is a hint that I am from a past generation. I haven’t seen a car that one must actually turn a crank to “roll down” a window in years. Anyway I pressed the switch and the window slowly and quietly sank out of sight.

I drove very slow hoping I wouldn’t disturb the geese. Ha, fat chance! From the rise above the pond there began a loud racket of honking sound. There went my attempt at sneaking up on the anything near that pond. I’ll have to check my Honda’s manual to see if there is a stealth mode.

The pond was filled with ducks and geese, but no ducklings or goslings yet.

I photographed the three sentinels before they could find cover. Then drove past and turned around so I could stop and shoot from the cover of my car.

Much of the pond still had a smooth cover of ice and there were more than one kind of duck paddling along the edge or just standing enjoying the slight drizzle that had been going all day.

I photographed the ducks and what geese I could see on the pond and tried to get some good photos of the geese that noisily flew off.   I didn’t do badly, but I think some of the avid bird photographers I know in Kamloops would have been better prepared than I was when the pond exploded with splashing water and flapping feathers.

I stayed for a while and the pond calmed down and became quiet giving me at least a chance to photograph the ducks and geese that finally decided to ignore me.

Those that read my articles about trying to photograph the pond’s geese last year will remember my disappointment because they were nesting and feeding on the opposite side of the hill. This was my first trip to the pond to photograph the geese and I am determined to get some good shots this year and plan on a weekly visit.

I left the beanbag in my car just in case.

Photos of turtles will have to do.   

Posted by enmanscamera on

 

For the past month I have been visiting a little pond just up the road from my place hoping to get photos of geese and their chicks.

I have been going there with my camera equipped with long-lenses for years. Some times have been great with lots of geese near the road, like there were last year, but all to often they were too far away.

Last June the hill across from the pond was covered with geese. I am pretty sure that would be called a gaggle. (I have also heard people refer to a group of photographers as gaggle) Parents and goslings were everywhere and really didn’t mind my car after I parked and sat quietly for a few minutes.

This year I made trip after trip in the morning, at noon, then in late afternoon and finally evenings before I lost the light.

There are a lot of geese at the pond, but for some reason they are staying low to the pond and so far on the other side that even my 600mm lens isn’t doing them justice.

I wonder what caused them to stay such at such a distance this year. The road isn’t any busier than normal. They aren’t acting skittish, so I don’t think anything has been bothering them. Nevertheless, they are wild birds and I expect the first one there must have decided on a good spot and the rest nested nearby as they arrived. Good for them, disappointing for me.

I could have turned around each day and gone home for a beer, but the rural area I live in is filled with life in the spring. So instead I just moseyed along and keeping on the lookout along the roadside.

There are many old dilapidated buildings slowly dissolving into farmer’s back yards and I could have pointed my camera any of the many deer that are always munching grass in fields at anytime of the day. But, since I couldn’t photograph the geese I decided that deer and old buildings would be off my list and I should search for other wild things.

I wasn’t doing to well, and in frustration after my latest trip to the pond I chose a couple blackbirds and actually stopped to photograph a deer that peered out of the long grass as I passed. However, when my friend Jo stopped by, as I was about to leave on what I expected to be another fruitless trip, I invited her to join me on the drive.

Sometimes it’s a fresh pair of eyes that is needed. Each day I passed a neighbour’s slough. I had seen turtles there before, but like the geese, they were eluding me. I drove slowly and Jo looking out the window suddenly yelled, “stop, there’s turtles”! Sure enough the wily little critters were sunning themselves all along a half sunken moss covered tree in the swamp. There were seven of them near one end and three resting midway down.

I finally did reach out with my long lens to photograph the distant geese, and I captured a couple shots of blackbirds, and there was that deer hiding in the ditch. I was bound to my goal of photographing anything wild, and have been keeping at that for days, but I wasn’t all that happy and maybe a bit bored with my subjects.

However, the septet of turtles changed that. I was pleased to have turtles for my subjects, so for this week the photograph of the turtles will have to do.

An excellent tool for a roadside photographer           

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I live in a wooded rural location just short of an hour from the city of Kamloops in British Columbia, and it’s so easy to hop in my car to drive along the winding back roads. I suppose I could hike or climb, but truth be told I have the most fun as a roadside photographer.

For years, each spring, my wife and I looked forward to seeing geese hatchings at a near by pond. There are normally two, or sometimes three adults with six or eight goslings hiding in the long grass just across the reed filled pond. However, this spring there are at least eight adult geese and maybe twenty soft yellow goslings residing at the pond.

To photograph them we would stealthily slow the car down and ease to a prolonged stop. Coming to a sudden stop spooks the apprehensive geese causing them to dash away. Do geese “dash”?   Anyway the fearful gaggle of geese would quickly move from sight. And opening the car door to try photographing them is a waste of time.

Having decided on the time of day that gives me the best light, I first slowly drive by so as to determine where I want to stop for the best photos and I shoot from the car. The geese are usually far enough away that anything shorter than a 300mm lens isn’t close enough. Actually, 300mm isn’t really close enough.

In the past twenty plus years Linda and I used countless kinds of equipment to stabilize our lenses. And the best, in my opinion, is a beanbag. A beanbag fits nicely on the car’s windowsill and allows the photographer to nestle down and rest any size lens on it for shake free shooting.

This year I purchased, after months of research and selling off some of my other lenses, the latest Tamron 150-600mm lens. The lens weighs just over four pounds and although it does have vibration control, shooting from a seated position in a car isn’t the best for sharp, shake free photographs. So out comes the beanbag. However,  I quickly realized that big lens demanded a larger beanbag than the one I hastily stitched together years ago.

With a bit of online searching I found a company called Movophoto.com that makes a large and unique beanbag that fits like a saddle over the car window. With my limited sewing skills I could never have made such a perfect beanbag for that big lens. I ordered it, and when it finally arrived I filled it with rice, and although it’s heavy it resides in the car and stays put on the window, so the weight is a good thing. There are a lot of gadgets that I could spend my money on, but for now that beanbag is my favourite.

I slowed my car to a stop next to the pond, shut the engine off, positioned my camera on the large beanbag, and waited for the geese to resume their browsing along the grassy hill beside the pond. At 600mm I was able to frame pretty darn close. Then, when I wanted a different position, I’d just move the car a bit, and take more pictures. I photographed those geese (and some nearby turtles) for about thirty minutes.

Suddenly I heard loud honking from some unseen goose that must have been hiding in the tall pond reeds, and, like a crowd scene from a movie, they all turned at once and rushed into the pond.

I am sure there are experienced photographers that would have set up a blind and waited for hours to get the perfect shot. There is no doubt they will get my respect. But I know where those geese are and what time of day is the best to photograph them. And anyway my car is really comfortable and when I am done I just drive home. I guess I am just a roadside photographer.