Cranky but loving - Trumpeter swan pair

[Randy Stout]

This mated pair of trumpeters had just finished chasing away some other swans, and took a minute to show their affection for each other.

D4 500mm AFS f/5.6 1.3200s ISO 1000 Hand held

Post: Crop for comp, selective sharpening, localized contrast adjustment on birds to help separate from the background, cleaned up the snow

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[David Salem]

Nice white on white scene. Exposure looks good and the detail in the face is nice. The second I looked at this I saw a heart shape with the two necks joined together. Great valentines post. Well done

[Alison McCoy]

This such a beautiful image Randy. Can't help but think how appropriate it is for Valentines day. Their necks form a heart as well.

[Melissa Groo]

Images like this slay me. I love it. That heart shape is too too much. Lovely feeling to this, Randy. Nice detail in your whites.
It's wonderful as is but just for fun I took it and cropped in close to emphasize the heart shape. I like it this way too but maybe not as much as you lose the lovely wing position of the one on the right.

[Karl Egressy]

Wonderful moment beautifully captured, Randy. Love the high key presentation and the interaction.

[dankearl]

Perfect timing and nicely exposed.
Call Hallmark immediately!

[Raymond Lee]

Great valentine's post! I love it the way it is just because the wings of the swan on the RHS add a bit of interest to the photo.

[Nick Palmieri]

Great job on the exposure. Really nice pose and capture of the heart shape. I like Melissa's re-post as I think it emphasizes the heart shapes a little better.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for the comments. Much appreciated.

Melissa - when I was processing the image, I did a crop even tighter than yours (which is nice) and really liked it. I have a few more frames from this series that I might post with some variations on their positions. It was really the head on the breast of the other that I thought was so sweet.

This shot came as I was literally walking away, heard the scuffle, turned and took a quick series. Less than 30 seconds start to finish.

Cheers

Randy

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the exposure, intimate moment, sharpness and composition. Well done Randy.

[Frank Schauf]

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]-->Beautiful portrait, great details and pose.

[Uri First]

classic. excellent whites!!

[Gary Esman]

Very cool pose here Randy. I like the original showing the full bodies. Spring is almost in the air and looks like they have paired up.

Gary.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Love the affectionate interaction. Great job with the whites and the localized contrast adjustments you did surely made a nice difference. I like that the individual on the left has traces of orange in its plumage against all that surrounding white.

[Sandy Witvoet]

A special moment that is extremely rare to witness, much less get such a lovely image. I like both image posts.... although I'm a bit partial to the OP.... like the "body language" and serene environment... well done!

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely, intimate behavior captured here, Randy.