Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno (a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan) was first uttered in the second century by the Roman poet Juvenal. Back then, a black swan was thought impossible and the phrase was used as a metaphor. It was used to show the fragility of any system of thought. Should a black swan magically appear that system of thought would collapse.
But no, we are not here to discuss the black swan theory or even the 2010 motion picture film starring the lovely Natalie Portman, we are actually here to celebrate the sighting of an actual black swan! I felt a bit like my 17th century countryman Willem de Vlamingh when he first discovered a black swan in 1697 when I first observed this lovely bird, literally in my back yard!
Now my 'back yard' is a series of meadows surrounding the fortress city of Naarden. A bank of swans had arrived here about a fortnight ago and is still happily grazing here. To my surprise, a black swan was part of this bevy. So when the sun - you know, that shiny thing in the sky that is sometimes seen when there are (almost) no clouds - actually decided to grace us with its presence I grabbed something digital, fitted a 100-400mm lens and started the hunt for the black swan. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.
The black swan is for sure an interesting creature, and indeed, phenomenon. Love the first image, nice detail in the blackness and cool posture of the beast. But the first portrait oriented image with the black swan in the water coming towards us, surrounded by some very winterish details, is my favourite!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joeri, it is one of my favourites too!
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