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Black Swan II


Black Swan II
Photo Information
Copyright: Deborah Kelleher (Debz) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 516 W: 0 N: 846] (3307)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-04-30
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon 350D, Canon EF70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, 52 mm Polarizer
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/250 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-05-14 13:27
Viewed: 624
Points: 36
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Black Swan

The Black Swan has a body length of up to 142 cm, with the females being smaller than the males. In adults, the body is mostly black, with the exception of broad white wing tips, which are visible in flight. The bill is a deep orange-red, paler at the tip, with a distinct narrow white band towards the end. Younger birds are much greyer in colour, and have black wing tips. It is the only entirely black-coloured swan in the world.

Distribution and Habitat
Black Swans are found throughout Australia with the exception of Cape York Peninsula, and are more common in the south. They prefer larger salt, brackish or fresh waterways and permanent wetlands, requiring 40 m or more of clear water to take off.

Outside the breeding season, Black Swans travel quite large distances. Birds fly at night and rest during the day with other swans. The Black Swan has been introduced into several countries, including New Zealand, where it is now common, and is a vagrant to New Guinea.

Food and feeding
The Black Swan is a vegetarian. Food consists of algae and weeds, which the bird obtains by plunging its long neck into water up to 1 m deep. Occasionally birds will graze on land, but they are clumsy walkers.

Black Swan egg © Australian Museum Breeding
In the north, the Black Swan breeds from February to May, with June to September preferred by birds in the south. Birds form isolated pairs or small colonies in shallow wetlands. Birds pair for life, with both adults raising one brood per season. Up to ten eggs are laid in an untidy nest made of reeds and grasses. The nest is placed either on a small island or floated in deeper water. The chicks are covered in grey down, and are able to swim and feed themselves as soon as they hatch.
nglen, garyfudge, fartash, Jamesp, Hil, ramthakur, Ken52, Mariol, jeanpaul, jaycee, Necipp, bobair has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To janhendrik: Black Swan IIDebz 1 05-17 05:29
To nglen: Black Swan IIDebz 1 05-17 04:41
To Heyshamite: Black Swan IIDebz 2 05-16 02:52
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2926 W: 34 N: 8678] (32330)
  • [2007-05-14 13:52]
  • [+]

Hi debz .This is a great shot of the Black swan. the detail and rich colours are amazing. great eye contact. and POV. Well done TFS. Nick. hope you had a good time in Kent .

bonjour deborah
le piqué est vraiment tres bon est la tête de l'oiseau est tres bien figée malgrés la vitesse assez faible.
j'aime beaucoup les goutelettes ici et là.
laurent

Hello Deborah
What a wonderful moment to shoot,
Perfect details and composition,
Great lighting and POV,Superb shot,friend.

Good Luck
Fartash

Hi Deb,

this is a great action shot. The crop of the image is definately right.

The water droplets really bring it to life.

Gary

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1351 W: 0 N: 5494] (16524)
  • [2007-05-14 14:16]

Hi Deborah

Excellent detail - water droplets especially. Great POV and colours.

James

  • Great 
  • Hil Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 705 W: 13 N: 1405] (5027)
  • [2007-05-14 14:31]

Hi Debz,

Superb shot of the Black Swan, nicely presented composition with a fine pose, excellent detail with all the water droplets and superb exposure and colours too.

TFS Hilary :o)

Hi Deborah....
Excellent detail. Very nice excercise with the colour, structure and focus. Good DOV. Well done. tfs. Stev

  • Great 
  • Ken52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 640 W: 98 N: 1241] (4189)
  • [2007-05-14 22:45]

WOW. Now that is a close-up. Outstanding sharpness and detail. Excellent exposure and deep rich colors. The composition is unusual but I like it.

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-05-14 23:27]

Hello Deborah

A beautiful portrait of this black swan.The lighting is very good,and the colours are outstanding.The orange against the blue are natural contrasting colours.Well focused wit sharp details.Cropped well and composed nicely in the frame.TFS

Rob

Hi Debz,
Wonderful picture of this gracious Black Swan. The droplets of water and the green leaf in her beak give life to this nice close up.
TFS, Mario.

The impact of this capture is stupendous, Deborah. It is sheer work of art.
The way you have composed the shot leaves me stunned with joyous wonder. The blue of the water seen through the curvature of the bird's neck is beautiful beyond words.
Can't thank you enough for sharing this materpiece.

Hi Deborah,
Good to see this Black Swan photo. The sharpness and detail in the body is super and the water droplets just make it better. I am not sure if you cropped this picture but I would have left the neck curve in if you did, making it into a square format. Well worth the effort. TFS,
Peter

Bonjour Déborah
Ce portrait est très bien realisé avec une bonne netteté sur la tête, de belles couleurs et une belle lumiere.C'est beau de le voir manger ces herbages de de voir toutes ces goutelettes d'eau autour.
Bravo et amitié...JP.

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2493 W: 11 N: 6885] (21912)
  • [2007-05-15 10:13]

Hi Debz,

I love the POV! The deep colors are wonderful and the details are sharp sharp. I love the leaf in his mouth as he takes his drink. Great Shot!

Jane

Hello Debz a lovely closeup the details are superb as usual nice freeze of the moment and well composed well done tfs rgds Necip.

Hi Deborah,

I really like this actionshot you captured of this black swan feeding. I wanted to see the EXIF info to see what mode the camera was on, but you deleted the info. The reason is that I want to suggest that you play around with Tv or Av mode, so that you can get a faster shutter speed. (The blurred droplets behind the head could have been a bit better.) In essence you could perhaps have used a larger aperture here for better shutter speed(Av). This is just nitpicking, I'm a bit bored at the moment, it is a super picture, and you saw it so well. Well done.

Jan-Hendrik

P.S. Will be back to give points, they are finished.

Hello Deb,
This is such a nice portrait of this elegant fellow. I love those details, colors, POV and composition. What is also great about it is that only the drops of water and the tip of its beak are blurred and all the rest is very clear. We feel the movement here and it is very agreeable. This is another beautiful one. TFS,
Claudine

  • Great 
  • bobair Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 398 W: 118 N: 1440] (5188)
  • [2007-06-20 22:56]

Hi Deborah,
this is a wonderful looking capture of this black swan,a bird that I can't ever recall seeing until now.Good details and colour plus focus make this a fine looking photo and thank you for sharing it with us. Bob

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