Two October Mornings At Middle Creek

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.

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.

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.

Canada Geese Prepare To Land

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.