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Child of Lir


Child of Lir
Photo Information
Copyright: Silke Force (Silke) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 753 W: 108 N: 1730] (5406)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-04-25
Categories: Birds, River
Camera: Nikon D70S, Sigma 18-200 mm (F3.5-6.3), Tiffen 62 MM Circular Polarize
Exposure: f/14.0, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-07-14 6:21
Viewed: 740
Points: 32
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
We have seen so many postings with good notes about swans that I dare to offer you a swan legend instead! And for those who really want to read about swans, I offer you this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan

This Irish Legend is known as the Children of Lir (Lir/Lear is the ancient god of the sea) and is told in Gods and Fighting Men by the Irish folklorist Lady Augusta Gregory.

A certain Bodb Dearg (the red) was elected king of the Tuatha Dé Dannan, much which made Lear very angry. In order to appease Lear, Bodb gave one of his daughters to marry him, Aoibh. She bore him four children, one girl, Fionnuala, and three sons, Aodh and the twins, Fiachra and Conn. When Aoibh died, the children missed their mother terribly and Bodb, still wanting to keep Lear happy, sent another of his daughters, Aoife, to marry him.

Aoife grew jealous of the children's love for each other and their father so she plotted to get rid of her late sister’s children. On a journey with the children to Bodb's house, she tried to kill the youngsters, but her courage failed her. Instead, she used her magic to turn the children into swans. As swans, the children had to spend 300 years on Lough Derravaragh (a lake near their father's castle), 300 years in the Sea of Moyle, and 300 years on the Isle of Glora (Inis Gluaire). To end the spell, they would have to hear the bell that announces that a new God has arrived. When Bodb heard about this enchantment, he transformed Aoife into an air demon for eternity.

True to the prediction, while the children were swans, Saint Patrick came and converted Ireland to Christianity. After the swan children spent their long exiles in each region, they received sanctuary from a monk on Inis Gluaire. Each child was tied to the other with silver chains to ensure that they would stay together forever. However the wife of the King of Leinster, daughter of the King of Munster, Deoch wanted the swans for her own, so she ordered her husband, Lairgean to attack the monastery and seize the swans. As the king was leaving the sanctuary with the captured swans, the bell of the church tolled releasing them from the spell.

Some Irish now believe that the tale of the Children of Lir was a foretelling of the time when Ireland would eventually be freed from occupation.

Tech: minimal cropping from back and top, reduced for TN, sharpened edges

Thanks for looking and have a magical weekend.
angybone, lovenature, pierrefonds, shabsslg has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To pablominto: good morningSilke 1 07-14 07:18
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Silke,
Beautiful picture... I particularly like the lighting, the contrast in between the white swan and that dark grey water...
And a very nice legend about envy, spells and freedom... Marta

Hello Silke,
A lovely pose and excellent textures in the plumage, which is very well exposed!
A pleasant composition with good details...
Greetings,
Pablo -

Hi Silke, splendid view of a lovely swan with wonderful white plumage, great pose, very well done, have a nice week end, ciao Silvio

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1992 W: 8 N: 5278] (17111)
  • [2007-07-14 7:53]

Hi Silke,

A beautiful swan in a lovely pose. The contrast between the white swan and the dark wavy water is wonderful. Excellent lighting on the whites. I love the composition with the swan in the upper quarter of the frame.

Jane

Graceful curves and lines, feminine and almost magical. Beautiful colors. Very nice shot!

hi slike,
nice capture, liked the shrap image , the white bird looks great against the dark bg,
well composed shot,
tfs & regards
pankaj

Hello Silke,
perfect sharpness again on this captured,
good posting of the cuttie with pretty ripples of the water!
good quality of nature photo
thanks for sharing, Silke
cheers
Tony

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1999 W: 245 N: 6519] (23242)
  • [2007-07-14 10:46]

Hi Silke,
a good shot of this graceful bird.
Sharp with good colours.
Well done,
Joe

  • Great 
  • martic Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 178 W: 2 N: 144] (1245)
  • [2007-07-14 11:07]

hello Silke,
Nice shot of this swan
I like it
Jean-Michel

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-07-14 19:26]

Hello Silke

A beautiful image with lovely focus and sharpness of detail.I really like the deep colours .The whites are well exposed with lovely detail in the plumage.Very nicely done.TFS

Rob

Hi Silke
What a great story about the Swan. It interesting to hear folklore from other countries.

The dark water is a nice contrast to the white Swan. The details and lighting are awesome, I especially love the ripples in the water around the Swan.

TFS Janice

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1817 W: 29 N: 5281] (17302)
  • [2007-07-15 7:27]

Hi Silke,
Wonderful shot of the swan in a fabulous pose. Very sharp details on its plumage and the exposure is perfect. The rippled waters presents a fantastic effect with its soft reflection. Excellent POV and a superb composition. Kudos.
TFS.
Sumon

Very lovely. I love the way the neck stretches out into a graceful arc - that adds to this photo. Excellent detail, nice contrast, and in a way, this capture can almost insinuate that this particular swan is a bit shy. I love the pov.

Belle photo de ce cygne superbe qui dessine une forme de lirre avec son long cou. Amitiés Thomas

Hi Silke,

A nice image of the swan, the photo has a good composition, sharpness and nice colors. Thanks for sharing.

Pierre

Great shot, Silke. The subject is crisp and moreover the water looks like a plate of dark mica sheet. nice capture!

TFS

Subhayan.

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