Swans

[hamburger]

Last weekend, which was quite sunny and summery, tempted my friend Barbara and me to take our motorbikes for a spin to the Baltic Sea.

And what did we find on the beach at Boltenhagen (former East Germany) but a number of swans? I never expect to see swans at the sea but a couple were actually taking a little swim in the briny:

1.

2.

mirror, mirror on the... sand???

These birds were obviously quite used to humans so we could sneak up really close and get the zoom lens working. The result: some swans portraits I'm quite proud of - and who has ever taken a closer look at the underside of a swan's bill?

3.

4.

last year's cygnet, I assume

5.

6.

I didn't catch the right moment for the real lovey-dovey, heart-shaped shot that you'll find on postcards but here goes anyway:

7.

 

[BoblyBill]

my only critique... Unfortunately there is some dust on your sensor in the top left of most of the pictures...

 

[hamburger]

Unfortunately there is some dust on your sensor in the top left of most of the pictures...

I know... I realised that when I had them on my computer screen. Too late to do anything about it then...

Considering I have had this camera for just six weeks or so and have already removed annoying bits from the sensor twice, that's a real bugger!!!!

 

[Alex_B]

number 2 is really nice, with the mirror effect, if just his neck and head were more in focus.

in 7 the crop is a bit tight ...

5 is simple and very nice.

 

[Alex_B]

Considering I have had this camera for just six weeks or so and have already removed annoying bits from the sensor twice, that's a real bugger!!!!

2 days after I got my current dSLR, I was taking lots of outdoor test shots with varying lenses and ther were lots of pollen in the air ... you can imagine the rest of the story

I also have the feeling that after about 3000 shutter releases my sensor collects much less dust! I have heard that sometimes the shutter itself produces some dust from abrasion and there might be dirt in the sensor chamber from the production process.

In any case, in 2 weeks outdoor dust and dirt I only had to clean the sensor once, even though I changed lenses about 20 times a day.

 

[lostprophet]

well that's something I've never seen, Swans on holiday at the seaside!

3 and 5 are my faves

 

[hamburger]

number 2 is really nice, with the mirror effect, if just his neck and head were more in focus.

Thanks, Alex. Actually, this required a LOT of patience as there were few moments when a wave had lapped up high enough to provide a mirror at all...

in 7 the crop is a bit tight ...

Not really - they were moving about so much that I found it tough to keep them in focus. Here's the uncropped original:

 

[hamburger]

2 days after I got my current dSLR, I was taking lots of outdoor test shots with varying lenses and ther were lots of pollen in the air ... you can imagine the rest of the story

Hmmmmmmm.... I certainly can!

I

also have the feeling that after about 3000 shutter releases my sensor collects much less dust! I have heard that sometimes the shutter itself produces some dust from abrasion and there might be dirt in the sensor chamber from the production process.

Oh, that's reassuring... A piece of hope to cling to, at least!