strike a pose

[John Chardine]

Every spring the Mute Swan couple- currently two females- are reintroduced to the Swan Pond at Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB. They tried a male and female years ago but they bred and then became very aggressive to human visitors. Mute Swans are native to Europe and were introduced into North America where they now breed.

I created this image this evening in fading light as the bird bathed and preened. I used a smaller f-stop to try to capture the whole bird sharp. I only slightly cropped the original. Noise reduction was used but I still have some in the BG.

Comments welcome!

40D, 500mm F4
capture date: Monday, April 28, 2008 7:25:08 PM
exposure program: Aperture Priority
ISO speed: 640
shutter speed: 1/250
aperture: f9.0
exposure bias: +0.0
metering: Pattern
light source: Auto
flash: OFF
focal length: 500.0

[Lana Hays]

John
I like this one.....from the composition to the pose. Nice job getting eye contact as it's often difficult to do so with a preening bird. I think you did well with this one given the light.

[Gus Cobos]

John, Excellent capture and composition, love the details on the whites and a great pose...:)