Up to my soles in pig poop trying to shoot geese

002, originally uploaded by edrahe.

Yesterday afternoon I was driving in the country and saw a field full of at least a thousand Canada geese on a layover from their flight south. I couldn't get close enough to see how many of them were on PDAs or laptops checking with the office. Anybody who's done any business traveling knows the layover drill.

The picture did not turn out at all how I saw it, which is actually food for thought. How does a photographer on the ground convey the impressiveness of a thousand honking geese in a wheat field? When I figure out that one I'll let you know.

The problem could've been the shooting conditions, too. It was below zero so the ground was pretty well frozen. So as I ventured into the field trying to get a good perspective I didn't immediately notice that there was about an inch of viscous mud on top of obviously frozen ground.

Then I smelled something and looked down in my shoes and scanned the surface of the field in my immediate area. Yes, I was standing in an inch of freshly applied pig poop -- acres of it. That's what farmers in those parts do with hog waste.

I guess pig poop is just another occupational hazard.