Uncooperative Swans
10 December 2014 -- 344/365
East Providence, Rhode Island
It was a misty and foggy day, today, and as I was driving past Willett Pond in East Providence, I noticed two swans swimming near the far shore. They had some tall reeds behind them that created dark reflections in the still water. The trees in the background were fading into fog. It was a perfect setting, so I pulled into the parking area and switched to my 200mm lens for the photo. The moment I stepped out of the car, though, these two swans made a beeline for me. They paddled back and forth right in front of me, apparently expecting me to feed them. Well, the perfect setting was gone, and the birds were so close at first that I couldn't even focus on them with my long lens. Finally, resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to give in to their gluttony, they decided to swim off. That's when I was able to capture this photo of the greedy beggars.
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, regions, contrast, boost black, boost white, and protect highlights. A levels adjustment was added in PSE.
I know the feeling. The swans round here are the same. They always come to look for food. This is a great capture. Lovely reflections and ripples in the water. Interesting commentary and thank you for the post processing help.
December 11th, 2014
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