Black Swan

[Skoropada]

I took this picture of a black swan when I was travelling for bussiness to Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was an overcast day, in the morning, but close to noon.



Here's the link if you want to see it larger.

It's the first time I post it, but I always liked it.

EXIF:
Shutter speed: 1/640s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 100
Focal lenght: 135 mm

I'd like to have your oppinion about it. I like the composition, but I believe something could be improved regarding the exposure or post processing.

Looking forward to your comments!

[AndrewPDX]

Nice job not cutting off anything with the shot. Too often I'll go through my shots and realize I cut off half the reflection, so I couldn't use it if I wanted to.

I think the shot is a bit underexposed, probably because of the cloud cover. I'd like a bit more detail to come through on the Swan. If you check the histogram while you're shooting, you'll get a better sense of what the exposure is going to look like. Don't trust the LCD image!

Also, if you had a circular-polarizer, you might have been able to change the way the water looked. I'm not the best to ask about those, as I still screw up when you're supposed to use them. But, my suspicion is that if you had used one, you might have been able to make the water look less dull. Not an expert though, maybe somebody else will weigh in.