Wings Spread Wide, Floating on Air

Hi all πŸ˜ƒ My entry for Debbie’s Six Word Saturday.

This sequence of shots was taken on our recent ride to the Kelpies. We stopped at Helix Park on the way; this has two large ponds, one manmade & the other more natural. Whilst at the first, I was busy getting some close-ups of the plethora of ducks & swans when my wife shouted that a swan was coming in to land. Still at max zoom on my 18-300mm lens I span round to try & catch the swan in flight (they always seem to fly when I’m looking the other way πŸ˜‚). I managed to get it in the lens & snapped a quick shot whilst panning rapidly with it.

Swan in flight at Helix Park
Swan in flight at Helix Park

It then shot through the line of the sun…

Coming in to land
Coming in to land

…where I lost sight of it briefly in the glare, before picking it up again just before touchdown.

Almost down
Almost down

After seeming to hang in the air above the water for ages, it finally touched down in a welter of spray, before gliding to a graceful stop.

…and as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you flying Swan Air"
“Thank you for flying Swan Air”

22 thoughts on “Wings Spread Wide, Floating on Air

  1. Would you like to be part of a spiritual musings WhatsApp group? It is a group for like-minded souls who’d like to share thoughts, quotes, musings and all things related to spirituality. I’ve added a friends from around the world and we’re now nearing 60 participants in four days. Let me know if you’d like this, the aim is to create community and tribe. Thank you! πŸ™πŸ» If so my email is ~ ambervi0@outlook.com for more details.

    1. Thanks for thinking of me. Although interested in spirituality from an outside point of view, & I do believe that there is a spiritual side to life, it is not a big part of my life. Thanks again, but I don’t have the time to devote to this at the moment 😊

  2. Wonderful photos! There are a few large flocks that spend time around here, I know when they’re approaching overhead because the sounds of their wings flapping is quite distinctive. Is auto focus used for your shots?

    1. Thanks, Barbara 😊 I’m the same, they’re usually swimming or sitting around. I have seen a few take off or land, but never when I had a camera to hand; just glad my wife spotted it coming in πŸ˜ƒ

    1. Thanks Debbie 😊 I had a close encounter with a buzzard that same day whilst actually cycling, it kept pace next to me for about 5 secs; I nearly crashed looking at it πŸ˜‚

Great to hear your thoughts πŸ˜ƒ