When photographing wildlife the urge tends to be to capture individuals or small groups with long lenses, yet some of the most inspiring documentary footage shows huge herds of mammals during migrations or massive schools of fish evading predators. With that in mind I made the current Flocks, Herds & Schools Assignment. Chris Mcnaught rose to the challenge with this photo near Parma, Idaho. Mcnaught writes, "The snow geese's annual migration brings them through South West Idaho early every spring. This photo was taken at the end of February. In the height of the migration there can be tens of thousands of geese congregating in the ponds."
This photo works for me because of the way the composition and the darkened corners helped focus my eye within the frame. Animals gather in these large groups as a means of protection because the groups make it difficult for predators to lock into a single target. The same is true in photos. By incorporating the brown brush at the bottom of the frame and the darkened blue corners, Mcnaught brought order to the scene.
Mcnaught used a Canon EOS 30D and a 70-300mm lens
Thank you Christopher. A friend congratulated me today on having the Photo of the Day. I’m not sure if I knew about it and forgot, or just missed it somehow. Either way, thank you for the recognition and your kind critique.