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A Sideways Glance


A Sideways Glance
Photo Information
Copyright: Paul Prince (PDP) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2964 W: 366 N: 3848] (11755)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-07-17
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 20D, Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX APO RF, Digital ISO 100, Hoya skylight (1B)
Exposure: f/7.1, 1/1000 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2005-07-28 18:38
Viewed: 1141
Points: 45
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Mute Swan Cygnus olor

Mute swans were known for centuries as “birds royal” because only the King, or those licensed by the by the Royal Standard, could keep them. Mutes are Britain’s only resident species of swan and one of the world’s heaviest flying birds, weighing up to 40 lb. The picture here is of a cygnet, a young swan. Opne of this years brood. Soon it will be chased off by the father to go and start a life on it’s own.

The mute swan is a very large white waterbird. It has a long S-shaped neck, and an orange bill with black at the base of it. Flies with its neck extended and regular slow wingbeats. The population in the UK has increased recently, perhaps due to better protection of this species. The problem of lead poisoning on lowland rivers has also largely been solved by a ban on the sale of lead fishing weights. Some birds stay in their territories all year, while others move short distances and form winter flocks. In cold weather, some birds arrive from Europe into eastern England.

Swans have left their image throughout history, from fossils in caves and the crusades of Richard I, to Arthurian Legend and Greek mythology. Aristotle, Plato and Socrates all believed that swans singing prowess was heightened as death approaches, giving rise to the idea of the swan song, or the final performance.
During the Middle Ages, the mute swan was considered to be a valuable commodity and was regularly traded between noblemen. The owners of swans were duty bound to mark their property by way of a succession of unique nicks in the beaks of their birds. It was the duty of the Royal Swanmaster to organise the annual swan-upping, a tradition that survives to this day. The role of swan-upping was to round up unmarked cygnets and once the parentage of the cygnets had been established to the swanmasters satisfaction, the birds could be marked appropriately and returned to the wild. The ceremony exists there days in a largely symbolic form, although as an exercise it is useful in monitoring the condition and number of swans on the Thames. The only two companies that still observe the tradition of owning swans on the Thames are the Worshipful Companies of Vintners and Dyers. The Royal swans are no longer marked, but an unmarked mute swan on the Thames is regarded as belonging to the Queen by default. The Queen still maintains an officially appointed Swan Keeper, and the ceremony still takes place on the Monday of the third week in July. The Queen has a prerogative over all swans in England and Wales. The Swan Keeper also despatches swans all over the world, sent as gifts in the Queens name.

The notes are from the RSPB Website


I hope you like this it.
liquidsunshine, marhowie, seb36, chiliu, Fisher, nixpix, klemmg, AndyB, sway, dew77, red45, Janice, Comandante, christophe, Luc, pablominto has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To slrnovice2: Hi HolliePDP 2 07-30 13:12
To klemmg: WorkshopPDP 1 07-29 10:25
To liquidsunshine: FluffyPDP 1 07-28 18:55
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Critiques [Translate]

Nice shot Paul,
The fluff on the bill is a nice touch. Excellent exposure and good fine detail. Colours, DOF and POV are good. is there more fluff between the neck and lower part of the bill? Good informative notes, Thanks for posting

Really like this different POV Paul! Perfect exposure with great details and sharpness..I like this, Well done!

  • Great 
  • seb36 (92)
  • [2005-07-28 19:42]

Yes I agree, the fluffy thing is the glassing on the cake! Well done!

  • Great 
  • chiliu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1552 W: 0 N: 1165] (6442)
  • [2005-07-28 21:21]

Hi Paul,
Excellent POV!
Perfect exposure. Sharp, clear and detailed.
Superb shot!
TFS!

  • Great 
  • Fisher Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1540 W: 309 N: 2234] (8915)
  • [2005-07-28 22:05]

Hi Paul,
A lovely capture. Beautiful tones and exposure. I like that glance, I'm sure the eye is on you.
Excellent composition and details. That beak!!!

Mike

A classic angle well captured Paul. You held the depth of field together so well and managed to keep the contrast and colours really well considering the black/white exposure challenge. Great image and note, Rob

Very nice shot, great colors and a lot of details. Martin Canuel

Like the pose and details, and light, except for main area of interest which is a bit dark, see my first workshop. Workshop needs some additional fiddling around with unfortunately (PS-novice!), but it brings out some detail.
Cheers,
Gabi

  • Great 
  • halki Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 253 W: 8 N: 105] (467)
  • [2005-07-29 2:20]

Hello Paul!
Good angel I would see expression on the eye.Excellent details and composition...
Thanks for posting.

Great shot Paul!
I like the POV and composition here, vertical, a bit tight framing also works very well. Details and exposure - perfect.
I like it very much.
WELL DONE!

  • Great 
  • AndyB Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1592 W: 32 N: 1361] (3978)
  • [2005-07-29 2:48]

Hello Paul,
A very nice capture.
A great POV,perfect exposure and excellent detail.
Very nice indeed.
Well done.

Hi Paul!
Amazing portrait! I love especialy its cute beak!

  • Great 
  • sway Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 316 W: 88 N: 308] (1212)
  • [2005-07-29 3:43]

Nice photo Paul.
I love the sideways glance.
Nice DOF
Great composition. It really accentuates the long neck
:)

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2005-07-29 4:27]

Hello Paul!
Very nice capture.POV is unusual and wonderful.Clear details and composition are excellent.TFS...:-)

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2830 W: 75 N: 8025] (26863)
  • [2005-07-29 4:55]

Probably one of most popular bird in Lodz's parks ;-) This POV works really well Paul. Perfect exposure with great looking shades of whites and blacks. Detailed and sharp. Of course I prefere insects and spider, but this bird also looks very good!

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3452 W: 144 N: 5902] (17486)
  • [2005-07-29 6:55]

Paul, this swan looks so elegant. Wonderful POV and composition. The lighting is good and so is the sharpness and feather details. Very well done.

Hello Paul!
Wonderful shot.well seen and composed.I liked details on white and POV very much.Thanks for sharing.

Hi Paul
Excellent Exposure and details
TFS
In a friendly way Christophe

  • Great 
  • japie Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1814 W: 100 N: 1904] (5187)
  • [2005-07-29 11:37]

I is just making sure that you are actually taking the shot. The exposure and sharpness is very good and I like the little feather in his beak.

Very well done and thanks for posting

Regards

Japie

  • Great 
  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2306 W: 324 N: 4306] (16856)
  • [2005-07-29 14:24]

Paul, lovely portrait, lovely pose and composition.

The contrast between the main subject and the bg is nice too.

A clear and sharp shot.

Hi Paul, nice POV and composition in this image. Your exposure and sharpness are excellent as always and the BG really sets off the colour in the Swan's beak. Lovely :)

  • Great 
  • Luc Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2058 W: 315 N: 4404] (14713)
  • [2005-08-13 6:28]

Hi Paul, I have no time to write a decent comment. I give to you the well deserved smily.

Weekend thought:
The most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical.
It is the sower of all true science.
He to whom this emotion is a stranger,
who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead.
To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists,
manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty
which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms,
this knowledge, this feeling, is at the centre of true religiousness.
- Albert Einstein -

Thank you for sharing pictures and notes and for the enjoyment which they give to me.

Hello Paul,
Great POV and an exciting composition resulting in a very good bird portrait! Good colours and perfect details as I can feel the feathers! Very well done... Again!
Regards,
Pablo -

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