"I think I can, I think I can"

[Randy Stout]

This trumpeter swan cygnet was uncertain about venturing out into this big puddle. He sat on the edge for a while after his sibs splashed in, as if trying to decide. These birds are at the local bird sanctuary. They are not restrained.

The light was quite dappled, so I had to tone down some hots spots. The background is still somewhat uneven, but I think it is in the tolerable range at least.

Comments always appreciated.

D300 300mm f/4 f/6.3 ISO 800 1/1600 No flash handheld

Post: NX2 levels, USM, evened out background lighting, crop 20%

Cheers

Randy

[James Salywoda]

Sweet Shot! Very nice Randy well composed excellent detail and very cute. I'd be tempted to clone out the
loose feather above the swans head as my eyes are drawn to it.:)

[Morkel Erasmus]

very cute! ditto James on cloning out the rogue feather. pic has got a nice sense of anticipation. I would consider taking some more off the bottom?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the angle and eye contact, thanks also for sharing the story. Does it need a bit CW rotation? I might lighten the shadow of the head on the back.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Certainly has the cute factor. never notices the feather until James mentioned it. comp and exp are good and the subject is really captivating. What do you mean by "Evened out background lighting?"

[Randy Stout]

Akos:

There were a number of hot spots from the dappled light. I adjusted the luminosity of those to a lower level, so they weren't so striking. You can still see some of them, but they aren't much less noticeable than before.

James and Morkel:

I missed the feather! Stared at the head and background, somehow overlooked it!

Axel: I will look at the rotation issue, and the neck shadow.

THanks to all.

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Super comp, and thanks for sharing the story behind this Randy. Good detail, and good job on the whites. Hope you got one of him eventually having a swim.

[Chris Kotze]

Great colours,detail and well exposed