Here’s a favorite that I posted on NPN 1.0. Catching the raindrops bouncing as this trumpeter swan cruised the Yellowstone River, was a special treat. Over the last 10 years or so, the numbers of Trumpeter’s nesting in the park has dropped from 10 - 12 into the 1-2 nests per year range, with the biologists thinking that the large increase in Canada Goose numbers may be an important factor. In better weather, when I’ve seen these trumpeter’s feeding in the river, they always seem to have Canada geese nearby, feeding on things that the Trumpeter’s have pulled up from the deeper parts of the river.
Mark, a wonderful take on this swan peacefully gliding along in the Yellowstone River here. This scene and stop action take is just as much about the falling and bouncing rain as much as it is about the swan. The amount of drops suspended or stopped in time is amazing. The falling, bouncing, and surface bubble drops makes for an excellent example on these sequence of the process overall…
Very cool, Mark. The rain hitting the water is great.
A pleasant scene and I love all the rain drop action, Mark! The expsure is a little hot so the swan lacks a little plumage detail but rain details make up for that. We’ve actually had an increase in nesting Trumpeters here in Valdez, Alaska the last 10 years but the last two years have been hard on them. We’ve had a lot of rain and the nesting ponds have been flooding and drowning the nests. I hope they keep coming back and trying!
Wow, wonderful stop action with the rain drops, Mark. The swans placement in the frame is perfect as is the focus. Wonderful details in the neck and underside feathers. If you could coax a little more detail from the feathers along the top it would be worth it. I can see why this was a favorite of yours.