Close up of Snow Geese in mild panic.

When the Snow Geese (and the Ross’ Geese mixed in) rise in panic at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, thousands of birds at a time, you are presented with an almost overwhelming spectacle…so overwhelming that it is hard to decide what to shoot. Do you go for the wide shot showing the shear multitude of birds? Do you zoom in for a shot of the density? As they come overhead, again, how to frame that energy? Of course, you attempt to do it all, every panic, but no matter how nimble your zooming, you do not ever really manage to catch more than a few thin slices of the event. And that is when you don’t remember you could be shooting video! 🙂

This is the panic as it passes close over at 1200mm equivalent field of view. These birds are not as densely packed as they sometimes are, but still it is a frameful. Sony HX400V. Sports Mode. 1/800th @ ISO 160 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom on my Windows tablet.