ICY COOL

[FUJI]

You can blame Nanny Ferret for these....in a reply to one of my posts she referred to our local pool; this motivated me to go for a photo-shoot, during the past few weeks it has witnessed, severe overflowing where it poured into the brook and all over adjoining fields, park and tennis courts...then it froze over leaving little room for the large number of gulls and waterfowl.

Yesterday it looked spectacular in the bright slanting sunlight of a winter afternoon......but what made it extra special was a very thin layer of ice just below the surface which allowed the water to give almost perfect mirror-like reflections.

The gathering of Mallard show this very clearly, they are standing on it....I have other shots to follow later:

Then I noticed the pair of swans preening close to the bank almost at my feet....this gave me the opportunity to capture all the nuances of white plumage, that is all too easy to blow out when shooting:

The pool is just two minutes from our house, just around the corner in fact, the wildlife is extremely tame because of all the walkers, families, and dogs.... but it is all too easy to fall into the trap of cliche shots:

The light on winter afternoons at the Swimming Pool end can be magical, as it was yesterday:

Best viewed LARGE...Click on Pics:

FUJI

[Heather]

these are really good Fuji, love the mallards best i think for the reflections, but as you have said you have done a good job on getting the feather detail on the swan too :)

[NannyFerret]

I see what you mean about the ice giving it a miror effect.

Really nice shots, Fuji.

We have been there in really cold weather but not whn the lakes been frozen, so it's nice to see what it's like at this time of the year.

[KateW]

Two lovely shots. You've caught the swan in a really good position.

[Kobione]

Hard to pick which I like best, Fuji. Both very nice!