An unusual picture of a dark grey-brown Bean goose that was flying upside down near the Dutch town of Arnhem has captured people’s attention despite being posted in March.
The picture was captured by photographer Vincent Cornelissen to which he said that he was afraid that no one would believe as the image looked like it was edited in Photoshop.
The photographer told ABC 12, “I saw that one of the three had trouble flying in a straight line. He was having a hard time which I thought was because of the wind. He seemed to be struggling, so I took some pictures of him.”
“I immediately realized that I had captured something special, but at the same time, I was afraid that no one would believe me. The image looked like it was edited in Photoshop,” he added.
Cornelissen said other photographers had managed to capture the phenomenon before, although he had not seen one that was as sharp as his own photo.
Cornelissen also experiments with other picture possibilities. “Most of the time I use my own filters such as Lightroom Photoshop. I like the matte look in a picture. For bird photography, I often use Topaz DeNoise to erase grain and add some sharpness.”
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But no matter how much skill a photographer brings to the job, Cornelissen said that a great snap sometimes just “depends on the day — weather conditions, my mood, and often a lot of luck and patience. ”
Lars Soerink, a wildlife photographer and conservation science communicator for Bird Protection Netherlands, said the image might just reflect a goose that’s learning new tricks.
“Once young geese have mastered flying, they start to see what is possible and how far they can go.” But he also said it could just as easily be that “they do it to brag to their peers. Like, look at me!”, he said.
“We know that some geese do this,” Soerink said. “But it’s a matter of seconds, so photos of this phenomenon are rare. Certainly as sharp and good as this one. So all credit to the photographer,” he told ABC 12.
