20110721

Mute Swan cygnet (Cygnus olor)

I was shooting wildlife on a creek near Cley in North Norfolk yesterday when a group of cygnets drifted into view, escorted by their devoted parents. Cygnets – like so many young birds – are incalculably cute and so many shots opened up of the group together on the water. I could have filled an entire memory card, but I held back because I was looking for something else. I wasn't sure what, but the colours cast by the grey sky overhead lent the scene a surprisingly cold and quiet ambience. So I lay down, almost in the water, and waited for this one shot – a solitary cygnet, head down and aligned with my lens in perfect symmetry. I would, of course, have preferred the water to have been dead calm, providing a mirror-like reflection, but I'm still pleased with the shot, which I think has a certain quiet serenity.

Canon 1Ds MkII, Canon 100-400mm IS USM lens, 1/1,300 sec, f/5.6, 400mm at ISO 400

6 comments:

  1. It IS perfect Tim, the water movement adds to the softness of the bird. I really like it, well worth waiting for.

    ReplyDelete
  2. oh what an adorable little serious face...

    ReplyDelete
  3. You did well there Tim, it's always worth the extra effort to get down to the subjects level. Nice one :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with texwisgirl - so serious cute baby-swan)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very special shot Tim, great "bokeh" and absolutely head on.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a cute little thing.
    John.

    ReplyDelete