Because I was working at home yesterday, I was able to grab a quick sandwich (peanut butter and jam) for my lunch then go for a short stroll to the harbour. With some rare sunshine illuminating the landscape, I pocketed my S45 and headed out. I needed gloves to keep my hands warm.
My expectations were not high. It was mid-day light and contrasty -- less than ideal for photography -- but it was mainly about the walk and being outdoors. The air was crisp and fresh and when I got to the library park by the harbour, early spring smells were emanating from the ground in warmer, sunlit spots. Lovely.
As I entered the pedestrian underpass beneath the vehicle bridge, a mute swan swam into view. I took a couple shots knowing it was nearly hopeless. Of all the birds to photograph, swans are one of the most difficult to capture successfully on a digital sensor. No matter how much you underexpose, the bright white feathers in sunlight tend to blow out. I checked the histogram. The usual -- tall spike on the right indicating blown whites.
The swan drifted back under the bridge into the shadows and I followed, hoping I might get a grab shot in the softer light before it got out of range of the S45's 35-105mm equivalent zoom lens.
Mute Swan
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)It did more than cooperate -- it swam close to me, looking for a handout. Like the local mallards and pigeons, it was relatively tame and used to folks leaving tasties at the water's edge. At the base of the sidewalk, where the rocks meet the river, ice still sheathed the shore. The swan drifted right up to me and stretched its neck up to the rocks, checking for a free lunch.
Mute Swan
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)It was happening too fast to change ISO values, so I handheld everything at ISO 50, shooting at a fixed aperture of f/5.6. At 1/40 second I held fairly steady though the photo shows a little movement in the swan's head. The slow shutter speed was unable to freeze all the motion.
This got me thinking about swans and some of the earlier swan photos I had taken. In bright light, I have better luck with film's tolerance and latitude. Film's characteristic S-curve has a little room at the top. The linear response of digital sensors has no lay-by's for highlights or shadows. My Leica CL with a 90mm APO Lanthar proved just the right combination for this shot a couple weeks back.
Mute Swans
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)One of my better shots with swans and digital happened in late February on an overcast morning. I had time to drop exposure compensation down to -2/3 and expose for the bright highlights. I was atop the pedestrian bridge looking down while the pair were feeding. There was very little colour in the image, and the water colour was ugly, so I converted to B&W.
Swanbergs
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)Last October, when I was at the harbour for a sunrise shot, I had another success with digital in the soft, warm morning light with reflections from the far shore to give the image an extra dollop of interest.
Swans and Reflections
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)There's no question that these introduced species, the largest of our waterfowl, are crowd pleasers. Unlike the noisy and messy Canada Geese, the Mute Swans are silent and graceful, elegantly white with arched wings, gliding into our imaginations like the storybook swans of our childhood bedtime readings.
(20-Mar-2004, Revised 17-June-2004)
www.NorthernJourney.com -- gene@wilburn.ca