I pushed to get up early (back to back) before dawn seeking images that I have wanted of these newly born mute swan chicks. Weather has been crummy or lighting difficult keeping me from what I have envisioned . Well minus one short coming I have finally been give my chance. Arriving early I came upon a back lit scenario that wasn’t ideal. I was glad to see the sun was out and not suffocated by clouds, but still not what I was looking for. I worked one edge of the job in hopes of achieving what I wanted. They weren’t cooperating. I had to go searching and switch sides to find them. While the trees were blocking the majority of the sun there were pockets where it filtered through. Plus the reflections were out of this world at one point creating a fall foliage reflective feel. Then as the sun was on its way from perfect to awful light they gave me a trusted and golden opportunity.
Something that I have wanted to capture is a photo of one of the chicks riding on their mothers back. Unfortunately it seems to be a characteristic that is only found as she will traverse a body of water and not lounging around the edges. So I provided this image with an option to click it and zoom in to be greeted by one of the chicks looking back at you. Unfortunately they only tend to do this a few days after birth, so the chances are slimming.
To give you an idea of their size and just how tiny they are. Those are dad’s feet in the background to give you a sense of scale.
The reflections from the trees behind them were fantastic. No full frontal lighting, but the green background really fills in the rest of the image.
One of the more heart warming moments of the day was when mother greets one of her chicks. Say it with me now, aww.
Finally getting the lighting I wanted I just kept on photographing and searching for new angles. By making my presence quiet and still they felt comfortable to carry on as I photographed their chicks. These chicks are known to eat some insects and small invertebrates at a young age, but primarily they will eat plant life and are 95% vegetarian for their entire life.
While waiting around I noticed a certain branch being a perch for a lot of birds. Camping out and with a little bit of patience this brown-headed cowbird came in to say hello. The background for this image was not saturated and was left as shot. Only a black point and white point slider were used. The sun shining through the leaves helped to boost the image giving that vibrancy you see. Watch those backgrounds!
One last location I saw the birds gathering at was a spot on the floor where there had been a bunch of seeds for them to munch on. While waiting around I parked myself on the floor at a low angle and just waited for them to walk into the sunlit location I wanted them to. Now I was very close to get these song birds nice and full in the frame. So don’t fidget and move around. You need to keep still and hide behind your camera. Any small movement they will see and you will need to start the process all over again.
One last surprise were these goslings that were trotting around with their mother. She kept her eye on me and I tried not to stalk or follow. I took advantage as she passed and when she took her leave I just enjoyed the moment. It was a great surprise and way to end the day. These chicks added a bit of color to the mix tied in with the blues of the ocean and greens of the spartina really helped make the photograph. Plus the clumsy little chick to the right didn’t hurt either.
A message to those headed out there; DON’T walk on the spartina or in the tide pools. There is LIFE in there! Thank you.
