Don't hate me, 'cause I'm beautiful ! Photo

Photographer’s Note

This morning I was happy to see a swan again :)

As living landmarks of Hamburg the hundreds of Alsterswans decorate the Binnen- and Aussenalster. The close solidarity of the hanseatic city to its swans has a long tradition: Already a mill account of 1591 proves that oats, barley and other grain were made availableby by the city for the animals at that time. In 1664 the Hamburg Senate put the swans under special protection; the swans became from then on no more wild, but were regarded as gentle animals. Under the protection it was forbidden with punishment to "insult", to hurt or kill the swans.
As representative guest gifts swans even found the way in other regions and countries.
Since 1818 particularly paid by the city for it a "swan father" is taking care for the animals. he supplies the swans with fodder, worries about hurt animals and brings them in late autumn in a great spectacle to the mill pond which is especially freed of ice for the swans to set them free again in spring to swim back on the canals of Hamburg to reach their "summer residence" - the Alster.

Post processing in PS6: Autolevels and contrast masking, unsharp mask with a little cropping from the bottom.

orme, carper, eleparc, sulucas, joso, manny, timotey, hojper, Intruder, dmitriy55, NellyD, balatrek has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

orme (6746) 2004-03-19 10:32

An amazing shot, Jan. The detail and clarity are excellent. We can even see the water droplets on the swan's head. The background colour is very beautiful. Good title. Very well done.

carper (65598) 2004-03-19 10:39

He or she is beautiful, Jan.

Great portrait of a beautiful animal.Good colours too, yes I love this one, great note too good job you did here.

eleparc (24059) 2004-03-19 11:11

it is a very nice shot Jan. excellent DOF and sharp focus on the swan. I like this sharp details that can be seen on its head... well done

Riz (0) 2004-03-19 11:32

excellent detail in this macro Jan the droplets of water are amazing
well done all around this is great I tell you.

Gaelle (753) 2004-03-19 11:54

Very nice shot ! It's very well done, with a lot of details, the feathers, the drops on the head... I like it !

cecile (4193) 2004-03-19 15:20

magnifique ce portrait de cygne! vraiment beaucoup de détails, bravo

Gatis (899) 2004-03-19 16:07

Impressive picture with great details

luis_paulino (904) 2004-03-19 16:54

Beautifull image. Very sharp and good colors.

joso (1786) 2004-03-19 17:09

Excellent, Jan!
Perfectly framed, composed, the colours of her/him works very well on the monochrom background.
Very well seen and done.

milloup (1829) 2004-03-19 18:04

Very well executed close-up of this swan. Excellent DOF and lots of details and textures. Nice touch with the water droplets and a good, evenly coloured background to set him off to his best advantage.

Ebbe (9571) 2004-03-19 18:12

A fantastic portrait with a lot of attitude too! The waterbeads are a nice detail that sort of adds life and reality. I also like the format and the crop of the final version. Good one Jan! (Jan is one the most common names in Sweden BTW)

cool_s15 (4044) 2004-03-20 4:41

Wow very nice closed up you've captured here, Jan! The orange color is stand out with great DOF. Very great shot!

manny (21378) 2004-03-20 7:09

THis is a very good picture. Good composition, good colors: perfect. Such a rare opportunity to capture a picture like this.

timotey (1926) 2004-03-20 7:27

Very beautiful shot well balanced in composition and colours.
The details - water drops, eyes, nose, are fabulous ! The title is so nice and your note very helpful. Very good cam Jan ;)

cloverstar (0) 2004-03-20 9:56

This is an excellent macro. The details of the swan's feathers and nose are impeccable.
A favourite for me. Extremely well taken.

Points tomorrow - I won't forget. (Points given)

hojper (2830) 2004-03-20 11:16

Fantastic note to a fantastic photo, Jan. From the thumb it doesn't look like much, but when it opens up - wow. It is so sharp, there is so much character in that birdface and he/she really is beautiful. But you can also see the danger in that eye. We know them well in Denmark, and I remember one of our sons always quoting his grandfather when he was very young: I must be careful of the swans, they can take one of your hands off in one mouthful!
Maybe a bit exagerated but they sometimes try.
I love the colour of the background. Wonder what it is. Oops, just saw from your reply to Andrew, that it's the water.

kourosh (2368) 2004-03-24 10:23

wonderful shot Jan. beautiful subject and technically perfect. one of my favorites.

Intruder (3075) 2004-03-24 20:33

nothing more than the title already says. BEAUTIFUL!

rajhema (1867) 2005-06-05 19:41

Sharp. no matter what you say, her beauty is enviable!-- Great shot

NellyD (1872) 2007-02-23 9:33

Hi Jan,

What a very lovely portrait if this swan.
Beautiful colours, excellent sharpness and details.
Very well done!
TFS

Greetings, Nel

balatrek (7419) 2007-06-06 16:51

Hi Jan,

A very beautiful image, the composition is perfect, good idea to leave background out of focus, good light and a great level of detail. Fantastic work!

Regards
José