Must be viewed large-- click on it:)
Though it was an exceptionally cold winter and spring, a snowstorm in
Mid-may is unheard of here. Unfortunately, a large group of
recently-arrived migrating Tree Swallows got caught in the storm and
had to hunker down on the tree branches overlooking the Yukon River,
and wait it out. I feared the worst would happen during the 24 hour
storm, and was worried sick that they would die from exhaustion as a
result of their long journey from Central America, a lack of food as
there were no flying insects, strong winds and sub-zero temperatures.
I returned the next morning and found no dead birds, so presumably
most had survived. They seemed to go into a state of semi-torpor (slow
metabolism) and huddled (see note) to conserve energy, a strategy that
apparently worked.
As surreal as it appears, this shot is pretty much straight out of the camera with a few contrast, vibrance and saturation adjustments in CS5. The green bokeh is courtesy of the deep green colour of the Yukon River in the spring. Eventually, this photo and others, along with the story, attracted significant international media attention. See my narrative www.flickr.com/photos/keithmwilliams/6401859531/in/photos...
Christine Kapler / PASSED AWAY, wurzel.pete, mycologie, blackberriem, and 354 other people added this photo to their favorites.
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gerdavs 5 months ago | reply
This is such a beautiful image. Simple and strikingly beautiful it tells the story of survival, of little birds struggling to survive as best they can by huddling together.
Kenny Ngo (Lehen) 5 months ago | reply
Amazing capture. Thanks also for your comments
Robinson T Cunha 4 months ago | reply
This beautiful nature photo was seen in the group!
~Nature's Heavens~!
Post 1- Comment 5
Marcello Bardi 4 months ago | reply
Ottima !
Please visit my gallery ...
This beautiful nature photo was seen in the group!
~Nature's Heavens~!
Post 1- Comment 5