Swan song
Swan song
Swan song
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Apr, 2016Views
296
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Unusual Swan Song Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 2Top 20 rank week 1Categories
TranquilityRose
April 18, 2018
So pleased this was selected for the People's Choice Award in the Unusual Swan Song Photo Challenge. Thanks peeps. It's one of my favourite images!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo while out walking with my young children at our local country park. I had just taken delivery of a brand new zoom lens, and this was one of the first photos I took with it to experiment with its' capabilities. I will confess, there wasn't much planning involved, but I was delighted with the result.Time
We were out quite late in the afternoon; about 4pm, and it was mid-January, so the sun was low in the sky.Lighting
There were loads of black-headed gulls squabbling on the lake. I think they were annoying the swan who started to display towards them. This gave me the opportunity to take advantage of the low sunlight which filtered through his feathers to create the ethereal effect of light and shadow.Equipment
The image was taken with a Canon EOS 550D dSLR and a straight out of the box Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. It was hand held at 300mm. I use a UV filter on all my lenses.Inspiration
I want to "get closer to nature" without interfering with the natural balance. Swans are such beautiful, majestic creatures, but I was looking for something a little different from the obvious head or full body shot.Editing
This image is straight out of the camera without any post-processing.In my camera bag
Having 2 children, my camera bag is usually a combination of their needs and mine. Along with my Canon EOS 550D, and the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM zoom lens, I keep a Canon EF50mm f/1.8 STM prime. I then have a spare battery and memory card, a lenspen and some disinfectant gel (for the kids)! If I know I will need it, I have a YongNuo YN565EX speedlight and a pair of YongNuo YN-622C Wireless E-TTL Flash Triggers to put into use.Feedback
Sometimes, you just need to take advantage of what presents itself. I didn't have a specific shot in mind, but learned a lot from this image. The late afternoon light was perfect but you can't control which way a wild animal will swim! The gulls in the area at the time provided a contrast between calm and chaos. Totally different opportunities for testing aperture and shutter speed.
