Anyone know exactly what these birds are? This shot was taken with a Canon Elan IIe and Canon 100-300/4.5-5.6, unknown exposure data. I'm new to photography and scanning, so any advice would be great!

-- Kirk Nelson (nelsonkk@gte.net), January 23, 1999

Answers

Kirk, You nailed the id. These are black swans, Cygnus atratus, and are native to Australia. The only all black swan in the world. I like the composition and positioning of the birds in your shot. The focus looks a bit soft, but the exposure looks quite good. Nice detail in both the feathers and surrounding water. Can't really help you with the scanning - I have trouble getting most of my scans to look very much like the original slides in terms of color rendition.

Peter

-- Peter May (peter.may@stetson.edu), January 23, 1999.

These swans are as common here in Australia as mallard ducks in the US. They are also difficult to photograph due to the high contrast differences. In photographing wildlife the key is to focus on the subjects eye. Getting swans eyes is really hard as you have found out.

Cheers

-- Bill Wyman (Bill.Wyman@utas.edu.au), January 23, 1999.

A few suggestions since you identify yourself as a beginner. As Bill Wyman points out, it is important to keep the animal's eye in focus. In this situation since the two swans are in a front/back positions, you need a very small aperture to get them both in focus, which may be difficult since you are using a telephoto. At a mininum, get the one closer to you in focus. If the swans aren't moving much, a tripod will let you get away with using a slow shutter speed and therefore a small aperture to maximize depth of field.

Moreover, when photographing wildlife, it is better to shoot from their eye level. As the way it is, the image is showing them from the human's view point. Next time, trying shooing from a low angle (perhaps sitting on the ground) and see whether you prefer that perspective better.

-- Shun Cheung (shun@worldnet.att.net), January 24, 1999.