photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

This is at Sandy Ridge res.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

Long lenses have relatively little depth of field. In this case it appears that the rump of Mama Goose is in focus but her head and the Goslings aren't.Using spot focus on the Moma's head would have been helpful as well as a smaller aperture, like f/11. (I don't know what you used here)

I also would have waited for the birds to be looking towards you. I realize that geese usually start swimming away as soon as a person shows up, but sometimes, with patience they will come back or at least turn towards you and you will have a more interesting shot.

Do you spend a lot of time at Sandy Ridge?

Keep working hard and have fun!

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Hello Birdpix, I used autofocus. We go there 3 or 4 times a month and spend an hour or longer each time.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

DSLR's will allow you to chose between using all the focus points or just a single one, usually in the center. When you use ALL the points, the camera decides what to focus on and it usually is the closest thing with some contrast. In the case of your goose it was her rump. By restricting the focus to just one point, you can tell the camera where to focus. With bird photography, having the eye in focus is critical. We will accept having other parts out of focus but a picture where the eye is not in focus is a non-starter.

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Thanks for the informatiion on how cameras can focus,mine has manual and shutter priority,etc. not sure how to focus when in those modes with this camera (Fujifilm SL300). My first camera was a manual film,you just turned the lens clockwise or opposite to focus.