"As Hard As Nails"

Posted by Ian Bramham (Manchester, United Kingdom) on 25 April 2008 in Animal & Insect and Portfolio.

An urban goose on the Manchester Ship Canal guards her nest.

She's chosen a concrete island in the middle of the canal in the heart of a busy city to make her nest.

If you like the photos on this blog and have got a minute to spare please vote for it at 'VFXY Photos'. The link is highlighted in green just below. It's currently ranked in their top 10.

Links to other Photoblog sites that I have found inspirational:
http://hugopoon.aminus3.com/
Hugo Poon records his home city Hong Kong in photographs so beautiful that they inspired me to start taking my own photos. Deeply humanist in his vision, Hugo claims that he is not a photographer. Why not visit his photoblog and decide for yourself.

VFXY Photos | Cool Photoblogs | Listed on Photoblogs.org

Comments (11)

Nataly from Santa Monica, United States

Great capture, Ian! Good lesson to us, humans. A nest could be made anywhere as long as there is a purpose.

25 Apr 2008 12:12am

@Nataly: Thanks Nataly!

Daroru from Amagasaki, Japan

Really interesting. And great crisp image.

25 Apr 2008 12:52am

@Daroru: Thanks Daroru....the lens is a Nikon 70-300vr which I got last month.

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

Talk about beauty and the beast...heartfelt photo, hell somebody take off the nails! ;)

25 Apr 2008 1:50am

@Lorraine: Hi Lorraine!

Yes, the contrast between city and wildlife can be surprising sometimes can't it.

Alun Lambert from Cheshire, United Kingdom

Great shot in mono, great feeling to it. love it

25 Apr 2008 3:54am

@Alun Lambert: Thanks Alun!

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

Gorgeous photo. I love that sharp detail.

25 Apr 2008 4:12am

@Ana Lúcia: Thanks Ana.....I'd read that there's a trick to making animal photos look sharper than they really are so I tried it on this one. What you do is zoom into the face of the animal in photoshop and apply sharpening to just the eye....that's what viewer's concentrate on apparantly and it seems to have worked here at least.

Alfredo J. Martiz J. from Tokyo, Japan

Beautiful photo, fantastic composition!

25 Apr 2008 9:04am

@Alfredo J. Martiz J.: Thanks Alfredo!

hugo poon from Hong Kong

Interesting find and nice capture Ian!! "Urban goose"... the first time I saw one.:-)

Have a nice Friday!
Hugo

25 Apr 2008 9:46am

@hugo poon: Hi Hugo...I hope you are well. I've never thought about Hong Kong in this way. Do you get much wildlife in the city or down at the harbour?

Things seem to have settled down again at DPR I see and it's great that you've started posting photos there again.

Observing from Chester, United Kingdom

Superb black & white image, detail as usual is perfect. I like the bird sitting by the old concrete foundation, beautiful.

25 Apr 2008 4:41pm

@Observing: Thanks very much. Geese are tough cookies...especially urban ones! :-)

MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany

A tough goose lady in a super B/W shot!

25 Apr 2008 5:33pm

@MadScientist: Thanks she's got that tough urban attitude look in the eye hasn't she!

Michael Rawluk from Prince George, Canada

She looks like a sculpture that should be sitting on those pegs.

25 Apr 2008 9:23pm

@Michael Rawluk: Hi Michael....it's the look in the eye that made me smile. It say's 'any closer and you've had it' :-)

akarui from Kagoshima, Japan

Lots of beautiful pictures in your portofolio. I like this nesting goose and the suroundings.

3 May 2008 8:51pm

@akarui: Thanks akuri...it was such a strange sight!

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NIKON D40
1/400 second
F/10.0
ISO 200
390 mm (35mm equiv.)