Trumpeter Swans and Wolf Moon at Zero Fahrenheit 20 January 2019
Trumpeter Swan, a study in ice.
As a bird photographer, I am conditioned to find sharp feather detail, bright and cheery color, and strength in contrast. Birds resonate with lively physical depth, each bird a shape of shapes, the physical dimensions built of layers upon layers of intricate feather barbs. The colors and textures in birds are revealed most often by sharp imagery and boosted saturation. As a bird photographer, I have developed some patterned formulas for success.
Mallard arriving to hail calls, full sun
Arriving to a favorite haunt amid swirls of evaporating river water and microcosms of "ice trees" forming on glazed ice, I puzzled over the unique and complicated dance between early morning pink light and shrouds of fog. My first steps as a photographer were into the place of comfort and security, and I began to work my usual formula. It took only a few frames for me to realize I was in uncharted territory.
Trumpeter swans
Mallard and Ice
To photograph in these conditions, I opened up a full 1 and 1/3 stop above the average and dialed in an ISO that still allowed for acceptably fast shutter speeds. The swans were unusually close today, so I composed where I could but mostly gave in to instinct and followed the birds as much by feel as by focus. The swans and I were soon entwined in a dance that moved step for step with the fog and the light. In the end, this is what I managed to lift from the morning. I hope you are able to feel the warmth of the light, the life of the swans, and cold of the frost, ice, and fog.
Super Blood Wolf Moon, January 20, 2019 (11:40 PM)
All images were made with a Canon 7D Mark 1 and a Canon EF 400mm f5.6 L lens. The moon shot was made using a Gitzo tripod at about 1/6 second, but all daylight images were handheld.
