Bosque: Ross's Goose Ghosts

Posted by E.J. Peiker on Tue Dec 02, 2003 12:00 am

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Ross's Geese - Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
EOS 10D, 600mm, 1/15, f/4, Flash @ 0, ISO 400

Having taken literally thousands of images of Geese over the years at Bosque, I concentrated primarily on raptors and Roadrunners this year and uncommon images of common subjects. So I attempted night flight shots and here is one such result. This was taken about 40 minutes before sunrise. I took the shot at just 1/20 sec and then popped the full power of the flash to freeze the birds in their blurred flight. I think the reflected flash light in their eyes lends a surreal, almost supernatural ghost like appearance to these birds.

E.J. Peiker http://www.EJPhoto.com
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Last edited by E.J. Peiker on Tue Dec 02, 2003 2:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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by SwampFox on Tue Dec 02, 2003 12:46 am

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I too like the surreal look to the eyes and ghostlike appearance of these geese. However, I'm wondering about the possibility of their being Ross's Geese instead. The bills seem kind of stubby and small without any apparent trace of a Snow Goose's "grinning patch". But then, making an ID on the basis of a single photograph is fraught with peril.

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by Carol Clarke on Tue Dec 02, 2003 3:52 am

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Very surreal look to the UFO's in this image EJ ! - and by the way, don't you ever sleep!!

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by DC on Tue Dec 02, 2003 5:54 am

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Pretty cool effect. I like the dark imprint of where the wings were before (?) the flash.

Dave
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by Cliff Beittel on Tue Dec 02, 2003 6:57 am

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Reminds me of Frans Lanting's African-waterhole nighttime flash shots. Charles is right about the bills on these geese--you can even see the brown-blue color at the base of the bills.

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by Laura Stiefel on Tue Dec 02, 2003 7:11 am

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I love how unique this is. I have to agree that this has a ghost like feel to it. When I first opened this image early this morning and half asleep- I thought it looked very "quite" if that makes sense.

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by E.J. Peiker on Tue Dec 02, 2003 7:28 am

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Yup I agree, these are Ross's Geese - I missed that and certainly know the difference between them and Snow Geese - my mistake! It was completely dark afterall

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by Scott A. Flaherty on Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:18 am

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A very interesting idea and well executed. Nice job.

Scott Flaherty
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by Bill Whala on Tue Dec 02, 2003 9:37 am

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This came out pretty cool. The geese are illuminated very nicely, not over flashed. Probably because you didn't use the BB?
I need to take a closer look at the ones I got that morning.

Cool effect.

Bill Whala

"Aves of similar plumage tend to converge with one another"

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by BrianS on Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:10 am

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Very Cool.

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by E.J. Peiker on Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:11 am

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Bill Whala wrote:This came out pretty cool. The geese are illuminated very nicely, not over flashed. Probably because you didn't use the BB?

This was taken on the second morning so I did use the BB.

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by Alan Melle on Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:28 am

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Cool shot, E.J.! In a shot like this I actually like the eyeshine.

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by Sandy Mossberg on Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:58 am

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Interesting shot, EJ. The black "ghosting" near each bird helps to lend a surreal look.

Sandy Mossberg
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by AlexC on Tue Dec 02, 2003 11:54 am

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Nothing surreal about this shot, the eye reflection is nothing more than their " Starlight" night vision goggles they use for night flying !!!!
Very nice!!!

[b]Alex Calzadilla[/b]
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by Dick Ginkowski on Tue Dec 02, 2003 12:39 pm

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Sandy Mossberg wrote:Interesting shot, EJ. The black "ghosting" near each bird helps to lend a surreal look.

I agree. It's cool, creative and well done.

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by Matt Cox on Tue Dec 02, 2003 12:50 pm

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This is definitely a unique Bosque, shot E.J., and to pull off this in-flight composition in darkness is quite a feat. I agree that the eye shine adds a lot. Nice use of the pre-sunrise time, when I imagine most everyone else was just trying to stay warm.

Matt Cox

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by Chas on Tue Dec 02, 2003 1:47 pm

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E.J., I commend your effort, but I would prefer a bit more ambient and overall exposure to seperate the wings from the background, and make the now gray goose appear white.

Go get'em man, there are plenty to choose from.

Best,

Chas

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by Bruce DiVaccaro on Tue Dec 02, 2003 6:57 pm

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EJ,

A nice shot and a very interesting effect. I like the implied motion of the wings.

Bruce DiVaccaro
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by Karen S on Tue Dec 02, 2003 6:57 pm

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Cool shot EJ. The eyes are a little scarey but the rest of it is awesome. Very creative.

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by Bruce Sherman on Tue Dec 02, 2003 7:14 pm

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E.J.,
This almost looks like a scene from a horror movie - what with the white eyes. Very creative.

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