Black Swan

[Paul Burdett]

My first half decent "almost head-on" shot of a Black Swan in flight.
7Dii, 100-400@ 227mm, 1/2500th sec, f5, iso640, manual mode hand-held. Cheers.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like it! Despite the jewelry and the very much worn wing feathers I find it to be an appealing incoming flight pose. Maybe just a touch more sharpening for web to bring out the fine detail, and you could also explore a version with a bit of canvas trimmed away at the bottom.

[John Mack]

Nice and sharp the details look nice. Looks pretty decent to me. This might make a nice pano crop.

[David Roach]

Great view of the eye, the under wing and those feet. TFS

[Randy Stout]

Paul:

head on shots are always a challenge with long necked birds like swans, as the dof rarely allows everything to be in the plane of focus. I find the wings a bit sharper than the head, so agree with Daniel about a bit more sharpening.

If circumstances allow, a smaller f/stop on flight shots can be handy, as you aren't worried about the background being too sharp or distracting.

Cheers

Randy

[annmpacheco]

Wow Paul, good job here a little more head sharpening!

[Chris van Rooyen]

Impressive bird wow. I agree a smaller f/stop might help to improve the sharpness a tad? A pano crop could also work?

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks so much everyone for the positive feedback and suggestions. I have other shots of a Swan, sharper, but not head on. Cheers!