Graham Bowden, Icarus (April theme: Shoot a magazine cover)

South Australia’s Coorong National Park is renowned for its birdlife and magnificent sunsets. I was staying at the little village of Coorong on Seven Mile Road just east of Rob’s Point within the National Park and went down to the beach in the late afternoon to see what I could capture. Luck they say is preparation waiting for opportunity and I was armed with my trusty 100-400 lens on a Canon R7 body as I waited for passing birds while also watching the sunset gradually developing. Just as the sun began to dip below the sandhills a pair of black swans passed by heading for somewhere to spend the night and that opportunity began to appear. I followed the birds and realised if they keep going as they were they would either pass through the sun or just above it. Just above would be better as the direct sun would probably overpower the silhouettes. The exposure simulation feature on modern mirrorless cameras lets you see what your image will look like as you look through the viewfinder and I saw that at f6.3 and 1/8000s shutter speed I’d get the exposure I wanted as long as the swans cooperated. Thankfully they did and like Icarus flying too close to the sun they passed perfectly just above the line of cloud with their silhouettes intact.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.