Goslings and Ducklings

When I went to Charleston, South Carolina at the end of April, the goslings and ducklings seemed to be everywhere. The ones I could observe easily were using the waterway through the resort as their base. The Canadian geese were quite plentiful and there were multiple broods - each with two attendants. The goslings were kept together and loud honking from the adults could be heard if anything got too close.

The Mallard ducks were not as good parents. When we first saw the brood, there were 5 ducklings. The next time there were only 4…and then right before we left there were only 3 ducklings. The adults seemed not as attentive to the young. The mother actually flew up onto a retaining wall and left her ducklings milling around in the water trying to figure out how to follow her. And there were turtles in the water. We didn’t see the demise of either of the missing ducklings but the turtles are likely suspects.

Now I wish I would have had my new camera in South Carolina. The picture below of a gosling in Maryland was taken last week with the new camera.

Adventures with a New Camera Part 1

I am experimenting with my new camera - a Canon PowerShot SX280 HS . So far - the experiment has included only the simplest aspects of the camera: using the zoom of my own position to frame the picture want. So far I am impressed with the results.

At first I expected that the camera would not focus for the close-up flower shots that I have enjoyed capturing with my older camera (a Canon PowerShot SD4500 IS)….but I was pleasantly surprised that it did so well with the azaleas at the left. I like the way the flowers pop out of the image with the light glowing through their petals.

How well would the camera capture ripples in water? I experimented with an Asian-type composition shown below. I like the results but will have to try again on a sunny day to see what the camera automation will handle the glare from water in brighter light.

The big improvement with the new camera was touted to be the ability to capture clear images with the zoom feature. Plants are easy since they are still (if the breezy does not interfere). The dandelion and fiddlehead were good tests. I liked the clarity of both images - and that I didn’t have to expose myself to the poison ivy that surrounded the dandelion!

Images of birds and small animals will be easier to capture with this camera. It will take some practice but the automatic settings are quite good. My initial attempts with some birds and a squirrel are below. The challenge will be to frame the animals in their natural setting - avoiding things like the twig in front of the squirrel’s nose in the image below.

I am going to enjoy this camera! Maybe I’ll gradually use some of the fancy settings too.