Photograph © Rick Sammon

Today was the last day of the workshops that Juan Pons and taught at Bosque del Apache, New Mexico.

Our group was treated to an amazing "blast off." (That's mist at the bottom of the frame.)

For those of you new to Bosque, the "blast off" usually lasts for less than one minute.

As in all photo situations, I had two camera bodies with two lenses handy, so I could shoot both wide-angle and telephoto shots – with the goal of "telling the story."

I had my Canon 400mm DO lens on my Canon 7D. I had my 25-105mm IS lens on my Canon 5D.

On the workshop we talked about the importance of setting goals. My goal this morning was to show the incredible number of birds that take off at the same time. The photograph directly above shows just how close the birds are to each other when they take off all at the same time. The photo looks chaotic! I know. But that is exactly what I was trying to convey.

My question: how come they don't crash into each other? :-)

Juan and I will be back in Bosque in 2012 for another set of workshops. I'll have some Canon lenses on hand for the students to use: 100-400mm, 500mm and few more. If you want to join the fun, shoot me an email.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Here's a close-up of two snow geese flying by the moon. Yes! I created the image in Photoshop. I can show you how to do this on my workshops - as well as how to enhance your images.