The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
It was a crisp, beautiful winter day at my local city park when I captured this moment. The air was cold, but the low golden light made the scene feel almost magical - a reminder that in winter here in the north, the sun never climbs very high, even at midday. As I watched this trumpeter swan glide across the icy blue water, I was in awe - this was the first time I had actually ever seen one in person. Over 20 years ago, I read Ralph Edwards of Lonesome Lake, a book that introduced me these extraordinary birds. Since then, they have always held a special place in my heart, symbolizing both beauty and resilience. Seeing one up close for the first time and capturing this image felt like a full-circle moment - a quiet tribute to the book that sparked my admiration all those years ago.
Specific Feedback
99.9% of what I photograph are landscapes so I know next to nothing about bird or wildlife photography so if you see something I may have overlooked or not thought of please let me know. I do have two specific questions though:
How do you feel about the “loose” crop? Is there too much space around the swan? I wanted to give it space but is it too much?
While the white highlights are not blown, they do feel rather bright. Are they too distracting?
Welcome to the Avian forum, Tom. Not sure I see anything to change. I like the composition-there’s the nice wake and enough room for the swan to swim into. I like the dark blue water that works well to frame the swan. The whites look well handled.
Beautiful image, Tom. I certainly don’t feel that the cropping is too loose. It feels quite comfortable to me. You might look at an alternative with the swan higher in the frame. It looks as if you were probably shooting down at it, and you can get a bit of a more eye level feel by putting it higher up (the opposite works for birds that are above you). You could work on the brightest whites just a little. I don’t like having them look gray, but I do like being able to see just a little texture except for the edge-on areas.
Gorgeous bird – a Trumpeter? The solid blue BG works well to isolate the bird. I love the bow wake and the vignette. The crop feels fine. The whites do look just a bit hot but it looks like you have brought up shadows well in bright light – not easy with a white bird. I don’t know how you processed it but have you tried a linear profile? That gives a bit more headroom compared to a lower-contrast starting profile like Adobe Standard.
Very clean image of this elegant species. The blue waters set up the swan very well. The pose and lighting are also very good. I like that you also got the full reflection in the image.
You absolutely nailed the exposure on this one. Every feather of the swan is bright and yet still has detail. The water is also so richly colored. The wake behind the swan with every little ripple perfectly frozen and even the bow wave. If there was anything that I would wish to be different would be to have the swan’s head in the reflection not broken up.
Oh I love taking swan pics when there is such a nice sky reflection. The contrast looks so good with this bird and congratulations on finding one that isn’t all dirty from feeding. In summer they are positively gross. This year they have migrated, but last year when the river didn’t freeze, they stayed and boy, they don’t call them trumpeters for nothing. Especially noticeable when they’re right behind your house and feel like singing in the middle of the night. If you have another go with these guys, get lower if you can. That’s the only thing I’d change.
Hi Tom, a fine capture of this beautiful swan. Cropping looks good to me as well as exposure. The birds pops nicely from the blue water. Agree with Kris on a lower shooting angle if possible for future efforts. Well done.
In this situation I was slightly above the river, behind a small wooden fence so I was limited where I could shoot from but I’ll definitely try to remember to shoot from a lower angle if it is possible in the future.
