Gosling.

Young Canada Goose bathing on the Grass.

I was somewhat spoilt for choice today. I hadn’t intended a wildlife photo shoot. Nor had I expected to get a gosling at close quarters. Wanting to go somewhere a little different, we decided to flex our National Trust card. We chose The Vyne – a Tudor Mansion in spacious grounds near Basingstoke.

We arrived too late to visit the house – which is undergoing extensive re-roofing work. However, we were able to wander around the grounds. The Mansion is currently covered in scaffolding and plastic, so not very photogenic!

The first thing worth photographing was some cows with their obviously very young calves. Several shots later, we saw the bull, and got a couple of him.

Then, we came across some Canada Geese. I spotted a gosling on its own, and was able to get a good angle. I also got in close to fill the frame nicely.

A little further along, there were some ducklings. Of course, the grounds gave rise to some good photographs as well.

I decided on the shot of the gosling, as it is seasonal. I can get shots of the grounds any time. I was particularly pleased with this image. The lighting was perfect, and the pose is good. If I had realised the ISO was so high, I would have dropped it to 200 to improve the colour saturation.

However, I am very pleased with this shot. The image also shows the quality of this little camera.

Photograph Details:

• Taken: 14 May 2017
• Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 MkII
• Lens: Olympus 40-150 1:4-5.6
• Focal Length 150mm
• F/10
• 1/200 Sec
• ISO 640