I’ve not posted here for a couple of weeks while I’ve been in the final stages of completing a project. With that work now done, I took a walk through one of the neighbourhood municipal parks with camera and tripod in hand.
For several weeks, we’ve watched an adult pair of swans prepare a nest in one of the nearby ponds. The pathway passes close to the water’s edge, where there’s a comfortable boulder, if there is such a thing, to sit on and enjoy the green space.
It’s not wilderness in the traditional sense. The pond is part of the city’s managed stormwater system, built to collect runoff and reduce flooding and erosion. It’s engineered infrastructure rather than a natural wetland, but it still supports wildlife such as turtles, fish, and, apparently, swans.
As it happened, this was the morning I saw the cygnets for the first time.
I set up my tripod low at the water’s edge, switched the camera to electronic shutter, and plugged in a handheld remote so that I could photograph with as little movement and noise as possible.
At first, the swan family kept its distance. I held still and let them move on their own terms. After a while, they became comfortable enough to swim past me, allowing this tender moment to unfold.
I’m not a wildlife photographer in any sense of the word. But sometimes opportunities present themselves close to home, in familiar spaces, when we’re open to noticing and patient enough to become part of the background.
Published: 27 May 2026
Continue the Field Notes
← Previous: Upper Gap
Scott Murphy – Photographer 