Ross’s Geese Taking Flight, Sunset. Merced National Wildlife Refuge, California. February 8, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A large flock of Ross’s geese takes flight in sunset light, Merced National Wildlife Refuge, California.
Every time I go back to this location, it seems to just get better. On this early February evening I had quickly driven over the hill from the San Francisco Bay Area – well, OK, it is a two-hour drive – in time to arrive shortly before sunset and join a group of friends who had come down from the Mariposa, California area to photograph the same subject. I drove out around the “auto tour” route to a spot where I had shot just a week ago, near a viewing platform. Just past this point, there were thousands and thousands of (mostly, I presume) Ross’ geese filling a large pond right next to the gravel road. I set up and gradually, bit by slow bit, moved myself closer to the pond, working carefully to avoid spooking the birds. Eventually I got into position perhaps 20 feet from the pond.
Initially I photographed the birds that were settled in on the pond. As we did this, more birds flew overhead, and some joined this gigantic flock. But the light still wasn’t quite great. As actual sunset approached, the geese began to lift off in large groups. It seemed like there would be some momentary electricity in the air – perhaps I was just sensing a change in their calls – and suddenly a few hundred would simultaneously take off in a large group. I knew I wanted to try to get some photographs of these groups, and I also figured that ideally I would like a bit of cross-light from the very low and warm-colored sun and, if I could manage to pull it off, I would want to get some sort of landscape-ish background of trees and ponds and the distant hills in the golden evening light. I made several attempts before I captured this moment during which the group had just risen enough to mostly clear the trees across the pond.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
Dan, this is a great capture. I love the reflected light from the pond to the underbellies and wings of the birds. Good work in a difficult spot.
Thanks, Rosemary. We had very good luck on this particular evening, from the gigantic flock of Ross’s geese settled into a pond very close to where we could photograph upon arrival, to their wonderful “lift off” in sunset light, to the utterly astonishing dusk arrival of uncounted thousands of geese that filled the sky and then landed in a field behind us. It was also great fun to share the evening with David and Charlotte Hoffman and with Michael Frye and Claudia Welsh.
Sounds wonderful, Dan. I’ve had the pleasure of driving that loop many times but have yet to be there on the right day.