Down by the River

[purplehaze]

I was in a funk today, so I took the D500 out for a walk along the Assiniboine River.

A couple of Canada geese were taking turns feeding in the park, one standing guard against the occasional dog running off-leash, perhaps.

#1


One of the geese had a burr stuck in its chest.

#2


I crossed the river on the railroad bridge, walked down to the bank and immediately spied a pair of mallards,

#3


#4


another pair of Canada geese, taking an afternoon nap in the shallow rapids beneath the bridge,

#5


and a pair of wood ducks.

#6


(I got a lot of nice shots of the wood ducks, but I decided to spare you. If you really want to see them, you can view them on my Flicker photostream.)

Back on the home side of the bank, I found another nuthatch, but didn't get any shots worth sharing. I did however get a few record shots of what my guide book tells me is a Fox Sparrow. (A new bird for me. Yay!)

#7


Feeling better now.

[Manfred M]

I prefer how you handled the sparrows in your recent postings. All of these images look just a tad "hot". No doubt some of this is caused by the conditions you were shooting under, but burning down the backgrounds and a very slight vignette could be considered as well.

[billtils]

Nice narrative Janis. Regarding Manfred's comment, there's a lot of white background (snow and water) which would mess with your exposure settings - the Fox Sparrow and the Canada Goose (#5) are the least affected by that and probably technically the best of the set.

[purplehaze]

Thanks, Manfred and Bill. It was me who bumped up the exposure in post-processing. Perhaps it was a reaction to the many days of overcast skies and my general gloomy mood.

[Wavelength]

Seeing these beautiful images, gives me a happy mood; thank you

[billtils]

... Perhaps it was a reaction to the many days of overcast skies and my general gloomy mood.

Lighter, brighter, days are just around the corner!

[purplehaze]

Seeing these beautiful images, gives me a happy mood; thank you

It’s a gift to have you say so. Thanks, Nanda.