While our brains know that these are birds, snow geese to be exact, this image is all about shape and color. Because it is a silhouette, there is no detail in the birds. Their shape tells us what they are. And the strong sunset color is the only color in the image.
With birds and wildlife, timing is important. This image caught one goose just lifting off, with water drops coming off its feet. The bird behind it is just getting ready to lift off as well. So the action is a nice counterpoint to the other three geese who are happy just chilling where they are.
Finding the right exposure for silhouettes is fairly easy when there is strong light on everything except the subject. I took a meter reading off the water, which was brilliantly lit by the setting sun. Because the water was so much brighter than the geese, they automatically were rendered as black with no detail.
This image was taken at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. I am honored to be one of their featured speakers at this year's Festival of the Cranes coming up November 14 - 17. As more details become available, I'll keep you posted.
TECH SPECS
1/500 sec. at f/10, ISO 800. Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens set at 200mm. Handheld.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "People talk about perfect timing, but I think everything is perfect in its moment; you just want to capture that." --Eddie Huang
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