December 17, 2012 - The Hangout

Within walking distance of our house are two lakes that serve as reservoirs for the St. Paul water system.  There is a man-made channel between these lakes where different kinds of birds hangout during the winter months because it does not freeze over.

It was a dark, cloudy day again (how many days in a row now?) and I was tired of trying to find objects in the house to photograph for this project, so I stopped by the channel on the way to my afternoon activity.  I was not disappointed - the birds had gathered there again this year.  After I had taken a few pictures and started to think about leaving, the swans - or are they geese? - started to "dance".  I took a few more shots, including this one, which I see now I made a bit too dark in post processing.

I expect that I'll be returning to this location numerous times this winter!

HDR:                    No
Exposure:           1/200 sec
Aperture:             f/9
ISO:                     250
White Balance:   Auto
Metering:            Matrix
Flash:                  No
Stabilization:      Tripod