I live near several small lakes, one of which has a swan family:
ISO 640 78mm f/16 1/500sec
This image is one of the first I captured of the whole family. I first posted about this family last week and my aim there was to keep the images as true to the original scene as possible. For this post, I am wandering out to a bit more creative territory. First a black and white edit:
ISO 640 78mm f/16 1/500sec
The first thing I did with this edit was to crop it. I wanted to really bring the swan in the foreground to an almost uncomfortable closeness. This swan was acting in a very protective manner and I think the crop helps tell that part of the story. I then brought the highlights in the image down and the shadows up. I wanted this black and white version to be a bit smoother than its original as shot exposure. I then added a vignette, darkening the corners.
I like this image and the crop, so I decided to create another color version:
ISO 640 78mm f/16 1/500sec
For this version, I started with a preset that was suggestive of a film camera. I kept the brightness of the original exposure though. It has a completely different color cast to it than the original. The luminance sliders for yellow, green, aqua and blue have all been boosted, and the color temp of the overall photo was also increased.
I’m sorry to say that one of the swans went missing shortly after these photos were taken. I posted the sad news on my Instagram:
How do you like the edits? Do you have a favorite? Feel free to comment below.
Cheers!
Added to Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge.
Picfair versions: Black & White and Color.
Photography Journal Blog 
They are so graceful, Amy. Is “went missing” a euphemism for “victim of a predator”, I wonder?
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Most likely that is the case, although I can’t be sure, certainly, that is the most logical scenario. The lake area is home to a lot of creatures including foxes and birds of prey. What I’m really hoping it wasn’t was a dog.
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… or a cat? 😦
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Yes, also possible. I always think dog because this lake is near a popular trail for dog walking, I don’t usually see cats near this lake, but there is no doubt that a lot of them live nearby.
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beautiful, and sad about the missing swan
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Yes, I find it sad too, even though I do understand this is part of how nature functions.
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I like the cropping, and that swan in the foreground works well with where it is. Really like the BW version. The colour version I felt was a bit overly warm…but I guess since it’s summer, it’s a summer kind of vibe. Pity about one of them going missing
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Yes, that color version is summer, perhaps overload?
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I don’t think it’s overload…the warm version seems to look like the ducks are baking in some heat 😀
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Yes, we are having a “heatwave” here, so it is actually warm.
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lovely
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Thanks 🙂
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Oh the peace that swans give us. Sorry to hear about one of the babies.
Your edits are lovely. I am a cookie person so I love the color captures.
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Thank you 🙂
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Your swans are beautiful. 😀
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Thank you Cee, I love having them living this close by.
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Swans are so pretty. I hope I can have them here one day. Beautiful shots.
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Yes, they really are regal.
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Oh no! I hope the little swan gets reunited with the rest.
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You sound like me 🙂 I’m always hoping little ones that go missing make their way back.
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I think that the original looks great. It’s funny, I try different things, too. Then, I often go back to the first shot and decide it’s the best one.
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Yes, that happens to me a lot too. It’s one of the many things I love about digital.
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Nooo! What happened to the missing wee one? How sad! About your edits — I’m a sucker for film processed looks so I really like what you did with the color cast on that one.
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It’s really the film filters that tend to get my attention the most. There is something about that look that really appeals to me. I always am sad whenever one of the young ones goes missing, despite knowing that that is how these things work. Last year there were six and four made it through the first year, which I suspect is actually pretty good.
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I like the closeness of the foreground swan too. And they do go “missing” the little ones. We have a small lake near us and this year the swans had two babies that we saw and now we are only seeing the adults. i am hoping the babies are somewhere in the rushes but I doubt it. In previous years we always saw them once they hatched and watched them grow .Nature can be hard.
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Yes, nature is tough. One of the two babies went missing over the weekend, and I thought, how sad, we are down to one. But then yesterday morning, the second one reappeared. I had been hoping it was just in the rushes, and the lake is really overgrown this year, so I knew it was possible, it’s just that that was the first time I’d ever really seen one reappear.
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I shall hope for the same with our swans up here.
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How lovely photos. I love this post very much. Thank You.
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Thank you 🙂
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Graceful and beautiful creatures. Both edits are nice, but I prefer the colour here.
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Thank you.
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Heartbreaking to hear of the missing baby. Swans are such majestic creatures. I like the mood of the BW image.
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Thank you very much. I’m always sad to see young ones go missing. Last year there were six cygnets and four of them made it through their first year, that was a pretty high success rate in my opinion.
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Once they make it through year one, do they stand a good chance at a full life? How long do they hang with their parents?
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Once they are at the 6-month point they are considered old enough to move out on their own. For the four we had last year, I can’t confirm this, but it seems like they all did well. Two left at about the 6-month point. The other two at about 9-months. The second leaving set was a bit more dramatic. We had a cold snap and one got stuck in the ice. The fire department came and got it out and took it to a bird rescue. The bird rescue brought it back 48-hours later. It then lived on the other side of the lake from its parent and remaining sibling. Then the other sibling joined it, then they were both gone. These birds will be sexually mature at 4 years, but before then tend to live in groups. So, the behavior of all 4 seemed healthy and appropriate, so I just assumed the best.
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Love the experiment of putting it into black-and-white, esp for swans. So fun.
Ah, those little cygnets (and ducklings), huge mortality curve there. Sadly!
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Yes, it is sad to track how many of them don’t make it. This year has been a bumper year for the ducks though. We have two rather large sets. One about two weeks older than the other, we refer to the older ones as the teenagers at this point.
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That’s great that the ducklings are faring well. We have had experience (a few years back now) with over-aggressive Canadian geese parents who, competing with mallard duck hatchlings, did away with the competition. 😦 The size differential is huge. Such a bummer. But not for you this year!
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So a few weeks ago, we saw the two sets of ducks meet in the middle of the pond. It was like they were having a stare-down, but then they just went their separate ways, it was kind of a funny moment.
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That’s so funny! What a sight.
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