Up close, and personal…

It was a gorgeous mid-March morning yesterday, so I headed off to the park, armed with my wide angle, mid-range, and telephoto–ready for virtually any photographic possibilities I might find. It didn’t take long to settle into a comfortable spot next to the pond to set up my tripod–picture perfect environs that featured a fountain spray, two Canadian geese, and graced a weeping willow for added charm. Not the most unique setting perhaps, even a little cliche…ok, a lot cliche… but my self assignment was to rise above that, and attempt find “the shot.” Barring that, it was a good excuse to practice, practice, practice. As I was focusing on the graceful geese, they emerged out of the water and began walking toward me. Close, closer, closer, still, with me snapping and pulling back on my zoom every few feet. Finally, I zoomed in close, for this shot. Talk about mugging… I finally had to shoo them away so I could get back to my mundane pond scenery. I got a couple of other keepers from the morning, which I may share in future posts.

f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 100, 300 mm.