Cygnets, Part IV

I was really lucky. As you know, Michele and I have been “stalking” a swan family in Suttons Bay for several weeks now. This latest time I took A LOT of shots and was about to stop for the night. I could tell the family was a little more shy this night which was likely a good thing seeing that tourists (i.e., boaters) were back in full force.

Then, I saw the light turn even prettier; that soft, yellow evening light that makes subjects glow. It had a beautiful affect on the water in contrast to the birds. I decided to try another round. This time, the family seemed used to me since I had been following them from the shore for over 30 minutes already.

Alternately stopping and feeding, they got absorbed and paddled across the water to within a few feet of where I was standing. I don’t think I took my finger off the shutter button for 5 minutes except to switch from landscape to portrait and back again.

I was engrossed with one parent feeding the 2 cygnets when I heard a mild “honk” off camera-right outside of what I saw in the viewfinder. One parent had remained vigilant and signaled to the others that we were WAY too close. Without a pause the three quickly swam away to the other.

Hopefully, they weren’t bothered by this and were fine. And, I guess I’ll keep stalking them . . . until they learn how to file a restraining order.   ;->

Andy