At first, they resemble a stand of reeds in the water, echoing the thrusts of the grass that line the shoreline in the foreground. But look more closely, and those reeds become the necks of geese -- hundreds of them. These migrating waterfowl are resting for the moment on the open water of this 40,000 acre wildlife preserve in Northern California, just south of Klamath Falls, Oregon. It is about seven o’clock on a fall evening, and the backlighting divides the image into six banded layers. The distant hills on the opposite shore fill the top of the image, ending abruptly at the darker band of greenery at their base. An open stretch of water leads to the strand of silhouetted geese. Below the geese, more water and the grassy shore in the foreground fill out the image. My 420mm telephoto lens compresses these bands within the frame, offering an ideal context for the late light that adds texture to the water’s surface.