entry smap 255: free as a bird in flight

since this week's theme is free, and it's a recurring one at that, i thought i would focus in on a few feathered friends in flight. after all what could feel more free than to fly like a bird. these are greylag geese Anser anser. they are common along the seashore in our area in Norway but i don't think i ever got such nice images of any in flight before these. i took the shots with my S22 phone camera and the geese are flying quickly so the images are not particularly sharp and professional like but with the phone zoomed way out and in motion i am quite satisfied with the result.

there was a group of maybe 20 geese on a patch of mown lawn right by the water but from where i approached i couldn't see them until i was quite close and when i did i was not fully prepared to take any photos. they were as surprised as i was and took to flight as soon as we saw each other. it happened so fast and was quite confusing where to point the camera so i just managed to catch these shots of the closest ones- the last of the group to take off

this may look more like a painting but it's a photo. clearly there are limits to the ability for the zoomed out phone to focus on the moving bird so the software in the phone attempts to compensate. the result is the image here, i have not edited it other than some cropping

the geese are very much at home here with the rocky islets dotting the shore as a safe haven for nesting and resting

this cropped version of the previous shot is my contest entry photo