Lens Artists Photo Challenge #179: Serene

This is serendipitous, my photo outing today brought our small group to Mather Lake— a swan habitat in Rancho Cordova. And, Patti’s challenge was SERENE. Perfect!

I find swans relaxing. They swim so gracefully. And I like it when their wings are up. Even though it was foggy, drab, cloudy and cold, I found warmth in the swans presence.

And I was lucky. I’m somewhat stymied by having a short telephoto lens, for my Nikon 7100, that’s a 300 prime. This means that wildlife has to be close enough for me to capture them. Fortunately, some of the swans were lakeside and others were swimming in the middle. Even typing this, I feel serene. This is what I’ve edited so far.

This swan was close enough for me to photograph it and its shadow.

Next I have a series of a swan fishing (I think!). It looks under the water with its head fully submerged. Next it’s still skimming the water before looking up. Last, with head up water drips from its beak.

They are also graceful in flight. It’s always a surprise when they take to the air. They didn’t fly too far off the water. I do wish they would yell, “Hey photographer, I’m going to fly now!”

I almost thought I’d have to leave without an image of a swan swimming with its wings up. As I was walking back to the car, there it was! Happy! Happy!

These swans cheered me up on a very drab day, bringing me serenity and joy. Thanks Patti!

13 thoughts on “Lens Artists Photo Challenge #179: Serene”

those swans brought a bit of serenity and joy my way too – 🙂 nice photo shoot

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Beautiful photo!

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Wonderful images Anne – you definitely made the most of the day! I’ve never seen a swan fly so that one was very special for me, but all are beautiful

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Nice of collection images that truly fit this week’s theme!

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A beautiful series, Anne! Excellent choices. Love the bird in flight, well captured.

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It’s been a long time I don’t see a swan!

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Beautiful birds!

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A lovely series of photos Anne, and perfect for this theme. I know they are paddling like mad beneath the surface but swans always manage to make their progress look effortless! Or at least in water they do – in flight it’s another matter 😆 But you’ve captured that too, which is no mean feat!

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