While I was birdwatching this week, I saw a flock of Canada Geese fly overhead in perfect V formation. With my recently trained quick reaction, I pointed my camera up, framed them so beautifully in my viewfinder, and CLICK. Shoot, my camera was turned off. Another quick reaction, I turned it back on and tried again… catching the tail end of the troop.
Here it is, better late than never:
Thanks to Alyce of At Home With Books for hosting Saturday Snapshot, let me have a chance to hone my eye-hand coordination.
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Tomorrow September 30 is our Anna Karenina Read-Along First Post: Parts 1-4. Stop by again to join in the discussion and make some ripples.
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Ripple Effects 
Oh, don’t you hate when that happens? But you saved the day….thanks for sharing.
Here’s MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST
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Well, you can say all is not lost. I love these two geese, these look placid against the clear blue sky.
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Love the tail end of that shot! I could just see you scrambling with that camera because I’ve done the same thing so many times. I might have to look into the simplicity of this idea for a post on Saturdays….
Have a great weekend.
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Ellen,
Yes, I’ve been enjoying a leisurely Sat. post with just one photo, more if you like too… since for you, choosing just one may be hard to do. 😉
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Fall is a fabulous time to watch their formation flying. It can sometimes be quite spectacular.
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trish,
You’re right. I still get many opportunities I suppose. I see Can. Geese quite often, but may not be ready every time though.
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Oh, Arti! You know how I’m smiling, even as I think, “Yes, if it’s not one thing, it’s another”. Foggy lens, turned-off cameras – but we learn! I learned another sad lesson last weekend – always take your camera, even if it’s in the trunk of the car. Just when you think, “Oh, I won’t need that thing” – you will!
The shot is beautiful. There’s nothing better than flying geese. I’ve loved them since I first learned this song as a child. I used to swing in the basement in the winter, and sing it. 😉
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Linda,
Thanks for the link. I haven’t heard that song before. I can just imagine you swinging and playing the guitar too? How about some photos please. 😉
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That’s a gorgeous photo. We have lots of Canada geese where I live, and I love watching them. Thank you for visiting my blog.
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Christine,
So Endland has Canada Geese too? Interesting. I think ours fly to South America in the winter. Where do yours fly to? Oh, I just remember the story by Paul Gallico… The Snow Goose. It was one of the most moving stories I’ve ever read.
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True, if you had waited just another second, you’d have had all clear blue sky and none of those pesky birds! (Still a great shot.)
My Snapshot
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Lisa,
I know I’d probably have another chance since its migratory season now, so I should be more prepared next time they fly overhead again.
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Had to laugh! That happens to me all the time, especially with my new camera. It’s still a fun shot though, and it conveys their flight right out of the frame. 🙂
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Alyce,
Yes, I quite like it. At first I was trying to crop it to make them more centred, but then I decide I should just leave the photo the way it is, more authentic this way.
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While it’s not the shot you intended, I’d call it a very happy accident. I agree with Alyce … it’s interesting how they are flying out of frame. Looking forward to visiting your Anna karenina post manana.
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Sim,
From a cinematic eye, it does convey movement, doesn’t it? That’s why I like it I think, quite different from most of the perfectly framed V formation we see. And yes, I look forward to the discussions on Anna K. tomorrow. See you then.
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I do things like that too! I’m glad you got a photo anyway, and that we were able to see it. I always love pictures of Canada Geese.
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Louise,
And you’ve a photo of a goose too. Just wonder what kind it is.
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Your comments made me smile – we’ve all taken great shots when the camera was off, out of battery power or with a big thumb in the way!
Well done for persisting!
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Brona,
LOL, haven’t we all? The well intended photo that never was. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment.
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Glad to know I’m not the only one that has been known to point and click and then curse the on/off button! Honk … honk!
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Susan,
From all the comments, seems like we’re from the same club. 😉 Thanks for stopping by.
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I hate it when that happens! My camera, a cheap Canon that’s usually good enough for my less than brilliant images, has a snail-slow shutter speed. There are times when I click a nanosecond too soon or a nanosecond too late. If I were trying to capture those geese, with my lack of luck combined with an almost blind eye, all I might have gotten was a glimpse of a tail feather. At least you captured two entire geese flying against a vibrant blue sky. Lovely “second place” shot!
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lameadventures,
Yes, I’m ok with this shot. I mean, we see them fly in V formation all the time, never like this with the last two geese gracefully tagging along. I’m sure I’ll have another chance since it’s busy migration season now. A Canon sounds like a good camera, even a cheap one. I’ve enjoyed your interesting shots there in NYC. Thanks for stopping by the pond here to leave some ripples.
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My camera is a decent enough little Powershot but not a professional model, more of a Griswold-type family vacation model. Early this evening I saw a flock of birds flying high in the sky over Manhattan. They were not flying in formation, just in swirls. When I zoomed in to photograph them the shot looked similar to soot particles. I’ll probably still use this crummy shot in an upcoming post since it reflects the Lame Adventures brand of mediocrity. Your shots are compositions that are much more National Geographic worthy.
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LORL! That’s laugh out real loud! National Geographic people can print this out to line their office drawers. You should have seen the photos taken by those from my birdwatching group. But now I know the secret: it’s the lens. To shoot birds flying in the sky or way up on a tree, you need telephoto lens. Some people in my group carry gigantic Canon 400 mm lens, nature paparazzi they are… their subjects are all fully clothed with feathers mind you. Anyway, mine is a 50-200 mm lens, which doesn’t do half the job as the 400 mm, go figure. Think of upgrading to a DSLR and telephoto lens to aim at anything in the sky. A Powershot would do for skyscrapers.You’re doing just fine with it.
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That was an educational response! It compelled me to look at my lens. It’s a 5.0 – 20.0 mm — perfectly suited to shoot bird droppings on the sidewalk in front of skyscrapers. Continue to LORL.
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For that purpose, you might need a macro lens. LORL!
p.s. we should be tweeting. r u on Twitter?
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Yes, but I’m a defective tweeter i.e., I seldom tweet. I can barely read all the blogs I follow, much less maintain my own site as well as write “other things” and work at The Grind full time. I need a 30 hour day.
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Tweeting can definitely save you time. How much time do u need to type in 140 characters? Anyway, we’ll stick with blog comments then. That’s what the pond is for.
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I’ve yet to get a handle on 140 characters. I’ve only recently gotten a handle on my toaster.
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Know what u mean. I need to think for a long while and rewrite many drafts to condense to 140 ch. But u’ll like it once u’ve got a handle… character bldg. I mean trains up ur character, not ur NYC bldg.
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I’m old school. When I think of character building I think of giving up my seat on the subway to someone blind, pregnant or elderly.
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Exactly what I mean. Giving up your time to condense lofty thoughts to 140 ch. can def. develop patience. I suppose you need precious sleep now for work tomorrow.
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Yes, it is time I work on my average looks sleep.
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The photos you got are very clear and showed the geese although you missed the others. It looks like a beautiful day with the blue cloudless sky. If not for the geese it looks like Lake Tahoe.
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Yes, the sky is always blue here, well most of the time. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment.
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The sky is just piercing in that photo. I wouldn’t call it a failure. Here’s Mine
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Yes, I’ve been to your blog and left a comment too. Hope you’re on the mend.
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I do that a lot too. I’m not sure why I turn it off, my camera has a sleep function and I carry a spare battery. Go figure!
I’ve been seeing, and hearing, some Canada Geese this week although I don’t usually see large flocks until later in October. And of course there are many geese that stay here year round just to torment us by pooping all over the parks.
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They must be world travellers… glad they’re still called Canada Geese. We see lots of them up in the sky and in the water swimming. Beautiful always… seldom a nuisance. 😉
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Hurray, you captured them. There are lots of Canada geese in Cambridge as they seem to settle well on the river here. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them in flight, though.
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I’m amazed that they seem to fly all over … even across the Atlantic. I thought they fly south, then back north.
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Arti, even if you didn’t get the whole “V” you still got ’em! And that’s not easy with digital photography and its time delay (unless you have a far better camera than I do!). Look at that blue sky! Amazing! We see a lot of them here (in fact, we sort of shudder when we see a platoon of them swimming (in formation) down the lake. The last thing you want is for them to choose your beach as their resting place! But when they soar…
My most poignant Canadian Geese story took place probably 20 or more years ago when I was riding north on a camera club outing with a friend to catch fall color. The geese went over us and Dan said that every time he saw them, he was reminded of the challenging birth of his son at about that time of year a number of years before and how he saw the geese and thought, “Please let my son live so someday he can see these geese, too.” And he did.
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That’s a poignant association indeed. And from what you say about them swimming in formation, I sense there are quite a lot of them in your area. I never see them swim in formation, only fly overhead… or land on the water. But once they are in the water, they sort of ‘disband’… or is it ‘regroup’?
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What a beautiful “in-flight” shot, and the sky is so beautiful as well.
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Thanks Diane. Yes, I’m glad to have captured that even only the last two. We’ve been having brilliant fall weather up to yesterday. Now it feels like snow.
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This week I learnt that skein is the term for a flock of geese in flight. Great how there’s a word for just about everything.
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Thanks for that word, Louise!
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