Dreaming in the clouds

[Randy Stout]

Mute swan at local bird sanctuary. I like the shape of clouds and similar shapes in the bird, the very selective lighting

D700 500mm f/4 1.4 TC f/6.3 1/4000 ISO 800 Full frame

Comments appreciated, esp. re. composition

[joel quenneville]

I love the lighting too Randy. The various tones of white and gray combined with the bird's pose give this one a peaceful mood. Your sharpness colors and details are very good. I would suggest a tighter crop here. Good job, I like this one.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the dreamy mood, eye contact, BG and unusual composition and might try to lighten the eye a bit.

[Fabs Forns]

Lovely pose, and BG, the eye is so alive!

Here's an alternate crop, no better, no worse, just another idea.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks all for the comments:

Fabs, I appreciate the recrop. I have played with several variations, and always come back to my original, uncoventional though it is. Somehow for me it emphasizes the sense of being in the clouds, to have them down around the side a bit.

Probably would have been better to have clouds on both sides, but I was shooting at 700mm and tried to make the best of it!

The light lasted only a few seconds like this.

Randy