Splitting The Light

One evening, I took a side trip through Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in central Minnesota. It was a cold, clear, early spring evening and I spotted these two swans. They were preening their feathers in the remaining sunlight of the evening. At times they would stretch upward and flap their wings. This is one of the most beautiful poses a swan can do, but the first time I didn't have my camera positioned correctly and ended up cutting the swan's head off in the photo. I waited for over a half hour before he finally did it again. The result of my patience was this painting.