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Chasing Chaos

Photographer Matt McCormick shares his favorite images from his journey following the waterfowl flyway.
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Snow Goose

Photography by Matt McCormick

From February to May, waterfowlers can extend their season by participating in the federally mandated Light Goose Conservation Order. Mid-continent snow, blue and Ross's goose populations have exploded over the last decade, placing extreme pressure on the arctic, sub-arctic and interior nesting grounds crucial for other waterfowl and wildlife. Hunters help control this ecological burden by harvesting snow geese beyond a typical season and in many states, without a bag limit.

Videos of massive snow goose tornados being intercepted by an army of shotguns fill our newsfeeds making this sport appear effortless. However, there seems to be a giant gap between mainstream media and reality. How many hours, miles, decoys, phone calls, handshakes and Red Bulls does a crew go through before experiencing a hunt like this?

Last Spring, I asked my buddy Jon Olson and the Snow Addictions Team to help me put these questions to rest. These 3 hunters are fanatics and while the rest of the country is filling out Final Four brackets, these guys are going seriously hard in the paint chasing one of America’s most incredible migrations. Over the course of 10 days, the four of us logged over 3,000 miles, hunted with 23 different people, felt temps from 5 to 75 degrees, ate like convenience store kings, witnessed an extreme case of gear hoarding and experienced a few epic hunts along the way. 

Snow Goose
The time between setup and first flight is often accompanied by a strange mixture of anticipation and apprehension. Hurry up and wait. Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 11mm, 1/10 sec @ f/16, ISO 320.
Snow Goose
Game on. Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 16mm, 1/3200 sec @ f/8, ISO 320.
Snow Goose
Tanner, the eight-year-old veteran who’s always looking up. Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 11mm, 1/800 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 320.
Snow Goose
Waking up to snow on day 2 brought mixed emotions. Jon summed it up best, ‘Well, it’ll either
be our best day or our worst.' Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 11mm, 7.8 sec @ f/16, ISO 320.
Snow Goose
Turns out, decoying a white bird in the snow is nearly impossible. Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 11mm, 1/1250 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 1600
Snow Goose
Jon’s middle Labrador, Drake, is a machine, easily out retrieving the other dogs 3 to 1. Here he is ready to be sent ‘back!’ Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 11mm, 1/1000 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 320.
Snow Goose
‘Take Em!’ Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 12mm, 1/4000 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 320.
Snow Goose
There’s plenty to do around 6am in the goose field. It’s often best to just setup the camera and help. Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 11mm, 64 sec @ f/13, ISO 640
Snow Goose
A great place to call home for a few days. Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 11mm, 1/400 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 1600.
Snow Goose
Yellow Labs match perfectly for no blind hunting in the spring. Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 15mm, 1/2000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 320.
Snow Goose
Part of what makes these birds so amazing is their average lifespan. In 2002, this Lesser Snow Goose was banded as an adult in Churchill, Manitoba, which means he’s at least 16 years old and has logged over 50,000 miles. Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 20mm, 1/400 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 640
Snow Goose
Just in time for BBQ season. Camera settings: Canon 6D with Canon EF 11-24 f/4.0 L - 20mm, 1/4000 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 320.
Snow Goose
Our leader, Jon Olson. Camera settings: Canon 7D MKII with Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II - 180mm, 1/2500 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 320.

Waterfowl nut and YETI photographer Matt McCormick shares his favorite images from last year's journey following the flyway.