Two Swans on Ice

I have been concentrating on getting correct exposure and good clear focus lately. This was shot without IS and was hand held. It is impossible for me to shoot moving subjects like these two with a tri-pod. This is pretty much out of the camera except for a bit of cloning to remove unsightly bird poop.  

Any thoughts, advice, ideas for improvement are always welcome. Thanks.

Well, I think you nailed this one.  The detail on the feathers and the ice is lovely.  I like the slightly warm tint in the highlights.

Wonderfully crafted. They look hungry. I agree; you nailed this!

Linda...  Excellent shot!  I can't help but assign some personality to these two; they look like they're pretty disgusted about the thick ice :-)... Mike

Make that 3 'nailed' its!  :-)  The exposure is spot-on!  I know what you mean about shooting moving objects with a tripod....an exercise in frustration.  But you managed this one well hand-held.  The sharpness is such that you see every detail, including the wonderful textures of the ice and feathers.  I also like the way the 2 ducks are arranged in the frame.

Bravo Linda!

Cheers

PDE

Responding to your comment, you have the exposure and focus just right.  There is something appealing about the stance of the bird in front, it says something about the icy conditions even though I'm sure these two are quite comfortable on the ice.

Jim

A beautiful shot with very nice lighting, Linda!

Nice shot Linda, good exposure and what I like most is probably the side lighting and composition. The placement of the two birds at different angle show both of them well and also give depth to the photo. The surrounding ice  give ambiance as well as surrounding weather. TFS!

Really nice work. Different image. Best Regards, dear Linda.

Thank you all for stopping and commenting.

I didn’t notice that there was a black hole in the wing of the swan on the left when I posted this. I don’t know what that is, I checked the original and it was there, I just didn’t see it. When I looked at this larger it seems very pixilated, before reducing it in Photoshop it is crisp. This will  happen when I size it to 1200 x 800 whether it is at 300ppi or 72 it doesn’t matter. I see other people’s images that are perfect, so I maybe I am not aware of the correct way to size an image. If anyone has advice I would love to hear it.

Best wishes,

Linda

Magnifica toma. Excelente composición y exposición, con unos estupendos tonos y detalle.

Un cordial saludo -Tolo.

Hi Linda

Really cool looking birds here...  The color of the ice is beautiful with them.

A lower POV might be even more interesting but you would have to brave wet and cold knees etc.

Re; the images.  PN seems to allow most anything in the way of ppi but cuts off the size of the image at 1400 pixels on the longest dimension.  This will give the "larger view" a lot of real estate on the screen of the viewers and doesn't look good if one uses a highly cropped image.  I don't usually change the resolution from my original image which is 500 but some folks prefer 72 p/in to thwart possible pirating of their images; I'd like to flatter myself by pretending that someone might that they are worth stealing......

Just as an example, the GBH that I posted most recently is 1300 pixels wide, 500 p/in and is only slightly cropped.  The "document size" in PS says that it is only 2.6 inches wide but at 500 res who cares?

As for the hole, who knows? Since it shows in your original image it could be a part of an injury or maybe an attractive dimple? Just another interesting part of a fine image.

Hope that helps.  If I can share any other stuff, that I have learned by asking others, please feel free to email me.

Keep warm..

Beautiful comp ,looks like fine art !! lots of these swan  out in BC... 

Linda,

  Beautiful capture with wonderful details.  Thanks for sharing.  Take care, Patsy

Well Linda, I love swans, an I think you did a great job considering the circumstances.  I know exactly how you feel.  Plus you wouldn't want to go for a 'ride' yourself!!! Beautiful composition and presentation Linda. congrats, Gail

Very beautiful capture ....................... Best regards.

Excelente toma Linda. Perfecto detalle, color y composición.  Bravo

Thanks everyone for commenting.

Sorry, I missed you above. Thanks for commenting, it's good to hear from you.

Linda I love the balance of all your work.

I have went through all of them and very impressed with your images

well done my friend