Out with cygnets

pt. 2 of "Swimming with cygnets" (hicetnunc-OBJKT#825932)

I love the trial of trying to photograph birds, despite how often I am disappointed with the results. There's a whole world of uniqueness in each different species in terms of their emotional presence, along with their different speeds of life which I really value and truly appreciate capturing. Unlike many wildlife photographers, I don't think I am one with the patience for sitting in hides with super long lenses shooting hundreds of frames to capture that perfect second, but I really appreciate the grind of those who do, their results are so often a touch beyond incredible.

I am one for short primes, I'm usually sporting only a 50mm on the camera, and sometimes I'll also have a 28mm in my bag or pocket, and on rare occasions I'll also have a tele of some description. I prefer to shoot with old manual lenses, which often strikes me as odd given what I've said about patience previously; but I abhor the auto-focus on my 400D, it's beyond temperamental.

So much of photography for me is momentary and fleeting, about the view through the camera, blocking out the rest of the world and tightening down to just the scene of the frame being lined up. I often feel a slight pang of disappointment when the image doesn't come out because I didn't take an extra few seconds to check over my settings, but I feel that's because I love to try and share what I saw before I put the camera up to line the frame up, rather than being caught up in the momentary experience of shooting the scene itself.