Please share your immediate response to the image before reading the photographer’s intent (obscured text below) or other comments. The photographer seeks a genuinely unbiased first impression.
Questions to guide your feedback
Hesitation obvious?
Other Information
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Image Description
A quartet of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) pause on an ice shelf along the shore of Priest Lake, Idaho, before entering to dabble for food. According to Learn Poultry, the single goose with his head held high indicates he is the dominant gander. The other geese are waiting for his signal that it is time to enter the water.
Located in the heart of the Selkirk Mountain Range the location and sheer size of Priest Lake afford ample space for numerous species of waterfowl, some resident and others migratory.
Technical Details
Canon EOS 5D II; Canon EF 200-400mm @ 345mm; f/5.6 @ 1/500 sec, -0.67 EV, ISO 100; Gitzo tripod, RRS BH 55; remote trigger
Yes, it is. I like the one goose that appears to be standing on one leg.
I enjoyed your description of the area. The curve of the ice leads to the reflection of the reeds, and then the curve of the bright reflections in the water takes my eye back to the geese. I have only one thought. Almost a quarter of the frame is occupied by the white of the ice, which pulls the eye there. Maybe cropping along the bottom and some on the right would help decrease the dominance of all that white. Then, a subtle burning of that corner would keep the interest centered on the birds. Thanks for sharing this quartet with us.
Thank you @Barbara_Djordjevic for your remarks. It is hard to believe but true, they do not get literal as well as figurative cold feet. Their feet are ingeniously designed so that they are already cold. Thanks to a network of arteries—rete mirabile— by the time the tiny amount of blood gets down to the feet it’s cold, the birds feel very little and they don’t experience heat loss.
I don’t get a sense of hesitation. If they had their necks stretched out, looking at the water, I think that would have conveyed hesitation, or concern, for me. I get the sense they’re just chilling (so to speak - ha).
Thank you @Bonnie_Lampley for your opinion. Actually the three front geese are waiting for the gander in the back to signal it is time to enter the water
Hi Bob, the birds being lined up on the ice edge makes me think they are waiting on something (like entering the water). Nice capture of a stark winter scene.
Thank you @David_Bostock for your kind remarks. You are one of a very small number of those who have made remarks that actually read the description. It has been my experience in viewing other posted image is that the author spends a lot of time describing how difficult, challenging or arduous it was to “get the shot.” Those anecdotes offer little or no information about the subject matter. They should let the image speak for itself.
Probably warmer in the water than on that ice! Birds don’t seem to suffer from cold feet very much, though I have seen them tuck them up in cold weather. A very nice composition, Bob.
Thank you @Dennis_Plank. It is hard to believe but true, they do not get literal as well as figurative cold feet. Their feet are ingeniously designed so that they are already cold. Thanks to a network of arteries—rete mirabile— by the time the tiny amount of blood gets down to the feet it’s cold, the birds feel very little and they don’t experience heat loss. The blood warms up as it returns to the heart so it can be distributed to the rest of the bird to maintain its warmth.
