It is hard to describe, exactly, how this scene affected me as I made this photograph. I was in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, New Mexico, one of my very favorite places to photograph. I find the entire refuge to have a large and diverse range of wildlife in it, and as you are there you never know quite what you will see.

This day, however, the refuge was fairly quiet. The inhabitants who were there preferred to stay hidden, which was a pity. It was early fall, too early yet for the majority of migratory birds to arrive, so seeing any bird this trip was something of a rarity. Still, there was plenty to see and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

My trip that day was done, and I decided to sit by the shore of a pond and enjoy the last of the day, for it would be dusk soon. As I sat, I simply relaxed, enjoying the sun, enjoying the day, and mostly, enjoying the few canada geese who were at the far side of pond. It was a time of peace, solitude and reflection; the rest of the day began slipping away even quicker than before. When I look at this photograph I am reminded of that time; of that peace and quietude, that perfect afternoon in the bosque. I hope that you feel much the same, and may the peace of the bosque be with you.

Flower Child

Ah, to be young again. For youth has an innocence all of its own about it; a purity and a sweetness and especially eyes that see everything for the very first time. And when you are just five days old, you are seeing absolutely everything for the very first time.

This is Esmeralda, a gosling, and yes, she is just five days old. When you are her age the world is fresh and bright and each moment is a brand new experience. This particular experience happened as she ended up in a patch of pansies in the bright morning sunlight. At first, she was a little confused, but she quickly settled into her surroundings and within mere moments decided that the sunlight, coupled with the small dish of water she was in, in her own private garden, was as wonderful a spot as she could imagine. You could see her stretch and enjoy the sun.

It was right about then that she noticed this strange object close to her (you and I would know that object as a “camera”), moving ever so slightly, seemingly aligning it directly with her. It made a few soft clicks, but most important, it made the person behind smile brightly. And in that moment, I too, was young again.

There are different sizes of this photo available at our portfolio. Flower Child is available for purchase, as well, and you can have this print framed and delivered right to your door.

Crane Flight, originally uploaded by ifringe.

I’ve been known to live on the edge of focus. And, more often than I would care for, I fall off that edge. In this case, however, I achieved what I set out to–namely, getting those three geese in the middle spot on while leaving the rest tantalizing out of focus.

How did I get this shot? By being completely against my nature, which is to say, patient. Just outside of the Bosque del Apache, there is wonderful pond–it’s not a big pond, but nor is it small. And best of all, there is nothing whatsoever preventing you from walking right up, and into it. Naturally, this was like a siren call to me once I saw the pond was full of Snow Geese. Grabbing a camera I headed down to the shore and plopped myself down to wait and see what develops. For no explicable reason the Snow Geese started swimming my way from across the pond. “Wonderful, I though to myself,” as I continued to sit there. Then, to my utter astonishment they started getting out of the pond pretty close to me. At this point, there was no moving, no getting up, and no way to think about any other piece of equipment save the nice long lens I happened to get (which made sense at the time, since they were across pond, not next to me. Anyway, one makes due with one has and thus was born my idea of very selective focus.

Time passed, and eventually, the snow geese did, too. But between the time they landed to my right, then passed me on land to my left, this particular shot presented itself. The Three Honketeers led the way from there to here to there. What an incredible experience to be part of and the memory of being in the middle of a gaggle of geese wandering around will be with me for a long time to come.