In the evening, the geese and ducks gather on the shores of Lake Bond. The sun setting behind them, they prepare to settle down for the night. These ducks live here. Why leave? People feed them all day long, and nothing hunts or tries to eat them. And so ends another day, silhouetted against the passage of time.
Originally, I wanted to shoot a sunrise while I was in Chicago. I walked down to the riverfront at 6:30 in the morning, braving the biting, bitter cold. The sun never showed. I saw a general lightening of the environment, but the mist hid the warmth behind cold, wet curtains. At first, the only sounds were pops from metal posts expanding and contracting in the ice. Then, the geese began waking. I captured this image as a flock of geese fled the creaking, groaning docks.
I took this on my trusty 75-300mm lens. I love small birds, and I especially love blue jays and cardinals. I've never gotten a picture of a blue jay, though. I have plenty of slightly-not-publishable pictures of cardinals. This is one of my favorites, for a couple reasons. One, it had better have been worth lying in the ice for an hour and a half. All of my joints hurt. Two, it captures tons of detail, and also that adorable moment when a small bird is shaped like a tennis ball in hopes of keeping warm in the winter. I have a huge issue with my 75-300mm lens not capturing shots as sharply as I'd like. So many come out slightly soft, and unusable, but I can't afford to replace it. So I was VERY happy this one came out.
