Thoughts and Reflections
©
Copyright, All Rights Reserved, Barry W. Hollritt, 1998
Waterfowl painters know that there is a special challenge in
painting swans against the light. Some of it shines through the plumage, some is
reflected from the water. In the case of photographing swans, the challenge of
light is still the same. With “Thoughts and Reflections”, I found that same
challenge occur on a bright July afternoon as I was floating in the middle of
the lake in my canoe. I had been observing a single swan drifting quite
confidently nearby. The whiteness of the subject is staggering. As the bird
moved through the water I kept my eye trained on the feathers and the sun. It
seemed I would only have a few moments to compensate for the brightness of the
day as the bird approached me. The reflection on the water gives the photograph
a feeling of thought shimmering, and as the bird passed by, it slowed
momentarily as if to allow my own composition to evolve. It was a divine type of
afternoon. Hopefully you feel the warmth.
