The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
A pair of black swans visit this small man-made lake every year. Locals say the pair have been coming here for the past 12 years. Each year, they manage to hatch out at least six young.
The day before this image was taken there were six. The day after this image was taken, there were five. A week later, there were none. Gone before they’re noticed.
Specific Feedback
Any comments are welcomed and appreciated.
Technical Details
1/1000 f6.3 ISO2500 150-600@270mm Hand Held
Most adjustments made in ACR. A few localised “curve” adjustments in PS. Slight irregular vignette. Noise reduction and wayward stick removal.
Glennie, their fuzziness shows how young these little ones are. They show up beautifully with softly glowing down. The ripples add interest to their reflections. I also like the touch of light on the branch at the left. If it was North America, I’d expect that the lake was big enough for snapping turtles. Snappers are well know for snatching baby ducklings.
Beautiful light in this image, Glennie. The composition works very nicely and I really like the one cygnet that’s out of the water and showing the wet down. The fuzzy down on the top of its head is a wonderful bonus.
Waterfowl do seem to have a lot of predators on their young. In addition to the snapping turtles that @Mark_Seaver mentioned, there are fish (I remember my grandfather had a duckling lure in his tackle box), other birds and mammals that predate them heavily, which explains why so many of them have such large clutches.
Another beautiful eye-level image, Glenys. Excellent detail and lighting on the ducks. I like the green background and the color and the reflections in the water is nice as well.
This one caught my eye immediately. I’ve been waiting to look more closely on my pc rather than phone. I really love the lighting in this. It’s soft, nostalgic or maybe sentimental feeling here, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. There is a peaceful calm about that feels pre-industrial, which I love, since this is a man-made lake (maybe designed to counter-act run-off from development). The swans are so young, and yet the one on the rock is so curious, that we get a story here. I hope it’s a good story (given the predator warning mentioned above). Clearly, if the parenting pair likes this place, there must be a reason.
Anyway, this has a “sunny morning vibe” that, if these were human children, I would associate with youth, innocence, and pure joy with no responsibilities and no worries. That carries over here to the “swanlets”!
