The Time I Danced With the Black Swan

How a Thanksgiving walk turned into the dance of a lifetime.

By Eleni LevreaultPublished 3 years ago • 4 min read

It was 2013. I was alone in Ottawa, Canada for Thanksgiving as I was not able to travel home due to work. That morning, I awoke feeling alone and restless despite the sun's rays stroking my face; staying inside my cold apartment was not an option.

As I danced from my room to the kitchen (really, the apartment was frigid), I caught a glimpse of my Sony camera on my desk. My uncle had just gotten me a new camera bag, and it was as good of a time to try it out as any. After a quick gulp of coffee and toothbrushing, I unleashed my amateur photographer unto the Ottawa trails.

Only an hour elapsed before I began photographing the urban wildlife of the North River; excited Labradors jumping in the water, black squirrels looking down at me from the safety of a tree branch, a young heron preening himself while giving me the side-eye. He and I flirted for a good 20 minutes before I continued my way, a small smile on my face as I wondered who would be my next Thanksgiving model.

My pace slowed as the trail took a turn closer to the water. I almost missed the dark beauty before me as her feathers matched the water around her in the shade. What stood out the most were her orange eyes, alight from within, pools of fire boring through my sunglasses.

I forgot about my camera for a few seconds. She was so graceful, so gentle in that moment I could not fathom trying to immortalize that feeling in film. When she made it clear she was happy to stick around, I slowly pointed my lens in her direction. Not only did she stay near, but like her heron counterpart, she started to pose. I could not believe my rookie luck.

Birds are among my favourite animals to photograph. For me, they represent freedom, a carefree beauty defying gravity itself when it suited their needs. I find it fascinating that they are among the closest living relatives of the mighty dinosaurs. They are the links between the past, present, and future.

To be honest, I did not have any special techniques. I used my telephoto lens to get the most of my time with this creature. I especially loved how her dark feathers and orange break contrasted so starkly with the water once the sunshine erupted from behind the clouds. My shooting mode was on automatic (I was afraid of tinkering with the subtleties of my camera lest my gracious model fly away). I took my shots from different angles, ranging from standing on top of large rocks to crouching on the ground inches away from the water.

Similarly, I did not use any fancy editing software for these shots. Back in the day, I loved using a Google app called Picasa to sharpen the photographs, play with the white balance, boost the colour a touch, and experiment with black and white versions of my work. Picasa did not have any fancy watermarking at that time, hence the basic signature in the bottom right of the pictures. I liked the idea of keeping my photographs as natural as possible when starting out because it helped me learn new techniques and improve my skills in the field before learning the fancier Photoshop software.

Where did I learn the basic skills I had? My uncle Gerry, of course. He was an excellent teacher and inspired me to save some of the money I made working as a cashier in Grade 10 (2008) to buy myself the camera I used to photograph this swan 5 years later. I kept up photography as a hobby until he passed away from metastatic cancer at the age of 58 in 2017. Since then, I have only touched my camera on moving days. I hope one day the pain will subside enough I can take up the lens again in his honour and continue the work he started.

Eventually, my Black Swan decided our time had come to an end and started swimming towards the afternoon sun. Right before she left, she posed for one last shot.