Mute Swan

Gallery: AvianPosted March 8, 201043 views7 comments

While visiting Lake Katherine in Cook County, IL I could not help but take this picture of a male Mute Swan. I am an amateur nature photographer and would appreciate any feedback.
Taken with Canon Eos Rebel 450d. 70mm, f/4, 1/640s, ISO 100

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by wade pettitt on March 8, 2010 at 9:03 PM

Jennifer , this is really nice however i believe it is a little tight on the top and left side.There are some hot spots in the whites but overall a very nice image.

Registered on May 6, 2009, 184 Posts, 471 Comments

Comment posted by Raymond Klassen on March 8, 2010 at 9:10 PM

Beautiful bird, and I really like the detail in the shadows, especially with the water droplets. The issues have already been mentioned.

Registered on November 30, 2008, 114 Posts, 790 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 8, 2010 at 11:08 PM

Welcome Jennifer, the bright sun makes this a tough exposure with a white bird. Try to spend most of your time photographing early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the sun is low. Bright overcast days are very good too. Composition wise, I'd like a little more room on the top and the left and you could reduce the amount of space on the right if you wanted to. The details of the water droplets are lovely. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Jennifer Day on March 9, 2010 at 12:18 AM

Thank you all for your feedback thus far. It is very helpful :)

Registered on March 8, 2010, 5 Posts, 14 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on March 9, 2010 at 9:53 AM

Jennifer,

Welcome to NPN's Avian Critique gallery, it is a great place to learn and the members who contribute critiques are very willing to help people here become better photographers.

Photographing white birds is a challenge especially in bright light, some of your whites are blown here. You don't mention using negative exposure comensation but that might be some thing to consider when photographing whites birds in harsh light.

The comp is quite tight here and this looks to be a large crop, I'd like to see the swan with more room all around it. Another issue is that this is compressed to only 46.4 kb, having it closer to the 200 kb limit would reduce loss of detail caused by compression.

I like the graceful curve in the swan's neck and the water droplets on the head & neck.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work. Please don't hesitate to evaluate other people's images and give them thoughtful critiques, I've found it is a great way to learn and to become more objective about your own techniques & images both in the field and in front of your screen.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on March 9, 2010 at 11:03 AM

I agree with Nate's comments on this one Jennifer. Early and late light are super, they turn images into art IMO. Nice first post and welcome to NPN. Hope to see a lot more of your work.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on March 10, 2010 at 8:51 PM

Very nice. The water droplets and detail in the white make it really good. Looking forward to seeing more!

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments