TS #E08 alights!

[Jack Breakfast]

Hello, fine folks...here is one of LaSalle Marina's trumpeter swans, coming in for a cozy landing. Taken a few days ago with the Canon 7D and 200mm f2.8L lens. iso800, 1/2000, f2.8...the presented image represents about 80% of the original. Levels tweak & u.s.m. and that's that. Thanking you sincerely for your considered thoughts and ideas...
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[Jonathan Ashton]

Jack as you say no nonsense, the bird is sharp and well exposed, I would be inclined to rim off the top clear area, I find it pulls my eye. The tags were there - they don't bother me and I can see the bird clearly, depending upon the potential use of the image they may be essential or detrimental. I can understand some would say clone them - just boils down to the mood you are in - do you want a shot with or without tags? As I said they don't bother me...... but I would have to say I would prefer the mage without them. Sorry if I disappointed you.:w3

[Melissa Groo]

Very nice landing pose towards you, and soft light, Jack. I would be tempted to clone out the tags, but that's just a personal thing and you might really prefer to represent the bird as she really is. There seems to be a slight bluish cast to the image, but that may have been a trick of the light. I really like the splash of water.

[Jack Breakfast]

Jonathan, you princely lord of short-eared owls and others, you could never disappoint me! Your comments are insightful and well-taken. Same goes to you, Melissa Groo! I'm in the process of documenting these trumpeter swans as they are, and trying to do so with a vague artfulness. Removing their tags is out-of-the-question for this particular project. I've been learning a great deal about the tagging of Ontario trumpeter swans and thus far my feelings RE said tagging are convoluted and confused. If anything, I feel disappointed about that! But I digress as I babble. I sincerely appreciate your comments, Jonathan & Melissa. I'm quite sure the bluish cast is from the strange light at that moment, but I wouldn't swear to it.

[Alan Murphy]

Nice landing image. Tags are distracting. I would clone them.

[Marina Scarr]

Yes the tags are distracting but they are also a part of the story Jack may be trying to tell. I would have one version with and one without. I think your image needs some CW rotation.

[Jack Breakfast]

Yes, Marina, that's the ticket! A touch of CW rotation wouldn't hurt, you're quite right. Actually as I'm rather new to cloning it might be a fun exercise for me, but I certainly mustn't edit the tags out for this project I'm working on...there's an interesting and rather sad story RE the trumpeter swans of my home province, and the tags cannot go. They're sort of a bizarro point-of-interest, in one way...I won't be posting any of the shots of trumpeters wrestling with the tags and trying to pry them off. They have a dunk-soak routine, and in wetting themselves they feel the tags might be easier to pry loose...or so it seems to me, a human observer. I try very hard to avoid sinking into the muck of anthropomorphism, but it's hard sometimes...many thanks for your comments, folks...

[laurie golden]

Jack,

You sent me to the dictionary for anthropomorphism - still not sure I understand it.
Our swans here have neck bands instead of wing tags. I have not seen any behavior that would suggest that the neck bands bother them. Do you why your trackers use tags?

I agree, leave the tags on and do the rotation. Nice landing shot.

[Jack Breakfast]

Hi Laurie! Taking human attributes, human feelings and emotions and putting them on birds, so to speak, is what I'm talking about. Which is to say: no people (not even ornithologists) can know how birds feel, and yet people will often say things like this: "Oh, that bird was so sad" or "That duck's mate died; he must be so lonely" and so forth. Birds are birds and people are people! That's really what it means, so far as I'm concerned. I don't know why the local trackers use these tags, and I can't be certain that these trumpeter swans are "aggravated" by the yellow tags, but I do know (from observation) that they spend a lot of their time trying futilely to get the tags off of them.

[laurie golden]

jack,

Your defination was better than the one I found on the web. Thank you. I have to admit that I am opposed to tagging any bird or animal for any reason. Since birds spend a lot of time making sure their feathers are in good condition I would think that these tags may not measure up to their standards and receive extra attention.

[Jack Breakfast]

Yes, well, we're on the same page there, Laurie!

[Frank Schauf]

Super gliding pose, Jack.