I traveled to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area near Kleinfeltersville, Pennsylvania on the mornings of October 9th and 10th for some low-key waterfowl photography and filming. As happens so often, I focused on video, and so took very few stills. I like to arrive early and photograph the waterfowl in the lake before sunrise as this period often has some dramatic light.
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| Waterfowl On Middle Creek Lake: 17-40mm at 40mm |
It was not nearly as exciting as in the spring when large flocks of Tundra Swans and Snow Geese are present, but there were a good number of Canada Geese and Black Ducks, and I spotted a pair of Northern Shovelers. Other species sighted, but not photographed with the still cameras included Osprey, Great Blue Heron, and Snowy Egret.
As it grew brighter I noticed a pair of Canada Geese in the pothole across Hopeland Road from Middle Creek Lake and photographed them with the Canon 7D and the 70-200mm f2.8 L lens.
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| Canada Geese In Light Early Morning Fog |
During this time I was shooting a lot of video with the Canon T3i and the 500mm F4 lens. I find myself using this rig instead of the Canon XL-H1 more and more when I am shooting video. While shooting video I had the 7D with 70-200mm slung across one shoulder and I shifted to it to capture a few shots of Canada Geese landing in the pothole.
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| Canada Geese Prepare To Land |
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| Canada Geese Touching Down |
This was not as exciting as photographing the Pennsylvania elk rut, but it was very satisfying in its' own way. One could spend a lot of time here working on flight shots and capturing take-offs and landings with both still and video.
Originally posted at
Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
