Ice Landing - trumpeter swan touching down, flying feathers and all

[Randy Stout]

This Trumpeter swan was imaged last week , landing on the ice. I liked the flying feathers, erect alula, flared primaries, open mouth.

D500 Sigma 150-600 sport, 360mm, f/f/6.3 1/5000s ISO 1000

Post: 30% crop for comp. Selective sharpening.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[John Whaley]

Wonderful landing pose with the outstretched wings, raised foot and the back light showing off all her wing feathers. The composition works and I like the open mouth as well. Wishing I could see some part of the eye and I find the flying feathers a bit distracting. I don't think I would have known what they were if you had not mentioned them in your description.

[Randy Stout]

John:

Thanks for your input. I am so used to seeing flying feathers off of the trumpeters, that it seems natural to me. They are so big, lots of material to slough off!

Their eyes are almost black, surrounded by black skin, so hard to show much detail in a loose composition like this. I had a full face posting of a juvi trumpeter on 1-14. You can get a good sense of the eye. The adults eyes are even darker.

I was happy there at least was a small but visible catchlight to help a bit.

Randy

[John Mack]

I like the pose on the bird. Nice composition with good detail as well.