One of the lessons I have learned about zoo photography is to not ignore the local wildlife that inhabits the zoo but isn't exactly on exhibit. For example I've gotten some great squirrel shots. Today the zoo animals were all taking it easy, which means no great pictures. It was a hot day and most of my favorites are actually more cold weather animals so they weren't all that active. The polar bear cub was nowhere in sight.. it was kind of a dud of a zoo shooting day. However I crossed paths with a family of geese twice (different families, probably). The first time I took some casual shots of them, the second time I realized I had potential photographic gold but caught it a bit too late, I missed most of the best bit. The first picture is all I got of that "best bit".. the young goose (it's not exactly a baby anymore.. but I'm not sure I'd call it a juvenile yet) was near a water hose that had sprung a small leak. The tiny leak had peppered its downy feathers with water droplets which hung suspended in the down. It's not a great angle, I really think the shot could have been great with more time to work on it. As is it's just kind of neat. It moved off soon after I took that shot. You can still see the water droplets in later shots. I guess I'd have to say takeoff is my favorite of the bunch, even though it's still far from an ideal angle. It was just so adorable.. the adults were running along side them, doing the thing where they flap their wings for speed but don't actually attempt to fly. The younger ones actually largely kept up just by running. And flapping their wings anyway. I probably have better quality shots, I got a lot of more conventional portrait type pictures of them. But these were more interesting, even if the angles weren't ideal. It was fun. It also shows how much focal length you need to shoot birds. I was maybe five feet away (give or take, I'm TERRIBLE at estimating distances) and spent most of my time between 140-200mm. I was a bit concerned that I might provoke a reaction from the adults. One kept an eye on me the whole time, it kept doing this thing where it would bob its head at me. I can only guess that it was a threat, but it sure didn't look like it. But I must have been at an acceptable distance, I wasn't on the receiving end of any goose attacks. It was just really neat watching them, especially the young, walking through a garden area and browsing through the available foliage. They actually seemed quite fond of weeds, which works out well for all parties concerned I'm sure.
