photoartflightMute Swans
Posted on March 30, 2020
Here are a series of Swan images that I photographed years ago. Many are from a very small Natural Area near where I used to live. Since it had a small lake there were many times you could get nice frame filling images of them. I know many do not like Mute Swans, but I thought they were interesting photo subjects and were fun to photograph.
Mute Swans With Cygnets
Posted on June 29, 2018
This pair of Swans were swimming by with their fairly new born Cygnets. Cygnets do not spend much time in the nest after they hatch. Usually not more than a day. The Male Swan (called the Cob) helps the Female (known as the Pen) until they are about a year old. They seem to continually swim around this small lake.
Mute Swan Swim By
Posted on June 13, 2018
Mute Swans are some of my favorite birds to photograph. They seem sort of expressive in their postures and movement. Plus they are a big subject so easier to see and fill the frame to get a nice image. Plus they do not seem to shy away from you and tend to come right up to where you are shooting. But you can see they keep an eye on you. You just have to make sure you do not blow out the highlights and lose detail in the feathers. Also their wings make a really cool sound when they fly by you!
Mute Swans Feeding
Posted on February 3, 2018
We had gone to the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, in Oceanville NJ, to see what we could find for photo subjects. We were looking for large groups of Snow Geese, but along the way on the Wildlife Drive, I found 2 Mute Swans feeding in Gull Pond. With the early morning warm light giving a nice warm color on the White Swans.
They were far out on the pond, but kept getting closer as I was photographing them. It was hard to get photos where one did not have a head under water. It seemed like they alternated, when one was up, the other was down.
Finally got a few when they both had their heads above water. Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens with a Canon Series III 1.4x teleconverter.
They kept coming closer. It seemed that they were not bothered by me being there. Next post will have a closer series of images.
Mute Swans
Posted on February 12, 2017
Most of the Wildlife Drive was closed for repairs so access was limited to the refuge. Some of my favorite areas to photograph birds were not accessible. But I did find a few Mute Swans that cooperated and did a slow swim by for a few photos.
Mute Swan FlyBy
Posted on February 7, 2017
These were taken at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge a while ago. It was a foggy day and we were hoping it would burn off as the sun was getting higher. We saw this group of 4 swans coming towards us out of the heavy fog. They were close together and one behind was an Immature Mute Swan. They came very close and in a tight formation. I shot quite a few as they flew by, thinking they would not be great because of the fog and grayish look. But in Photoshop I brought up enough detail to be interesting.
Mute Swans From The Edwin B. Forsythe NWR
Posted on December 13, 2016
Going through my files and found these images of Mute Swans taken at the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, Brigantine Division in Oceanville, NJ. This is one of my favorite locations to photograph birds. From shore birds, to wadding birds, to raptors it has a diverse amount of photo subjects for you to look for. Plus there are great subjects in every season.
Pair of Mute Swans
Posted on August 14, 2016
This pair of Mute Swans was slowly swimming by where I was setup. I liked the closeness of the two Swan heads and how they stayed very close together. I had a 400mm lens setup on a tripod, which was a little close to get them all in the frame, so I went for a portrait of their heads. Then I quickly shot a series of shots of their bodies to stack into the head shot get a final image.
Mute Swans Taking Flight
Posted on May 14, 2016
One of my favorite birds to photograph are Mute Swans taking off. Between the flapping, splashing and the noise of flapping wings against the water and sound of their wings as they go by. Also it takes quite a bit of space for them to actually get airborne, so lots of photo opportunities if you are in the right spot.
Territorial Mute Swans
Posted on March 27, 2016
The pair of Mute swans that flew in after the Immature Mute Swan that flew in a few weeks ago really seem to keep after him. They seem to continually go after him chasing him around the small lake. It seems that they can ignore him for a while then all of a sudden fly across the lake to go after him. But it does supply action sequences for photos! It is amazing to see such large birds flapping around, give quite a show.
Moving in to start the chase.
They’re Off
Getting Closer!
