Bedford Bridge and the river Great Ouse. These swans were a challenge to include in the shot - I wasn't sure if I wanted them there or not. Since they moved all the time and I wanted to freeze their motion, I had to shorten exposure time. Bedford bridge was nicely lit in blue too, but at the same time, it was also hard to separate it from the blueness of the sky.

Hope everyone’s New Year started out nicely. For the first day of 2011, I thought I’d visit the town of Bedford, and there I was greeted by a group of swans by the river. Swans are known to be symbols of beauty and grace, but new to me is that they are also regarded as masters of earth, wind and water.

I thought I’d share with you this poem I came across today:

Swan of beauty, swan of grace / A queen among her ancient race / She glides across the mirrored lake / No ripple does the surface break. (Susa Morgan Black) [...Wait, more photos!]