Shropshire Star

Swan's river take-off sees John snap up £100 Star Witness prize

A stunning shot of a swan taking flight is not an easy thing to capture – but for one photographer his patience has paid off with a £100 prize.

Published
Up and away – Delilah takes off to give John Richards his £100 picture

Shropshire photographer John Richards has been documenting the swans on the river near where he lives for years, but he said it was rare to capture the moment of take-off due to the unpredictability of the birds.

Mr Richards, 38, took up photography four years ago, when he was acting as a full time carer for his sick father.

John has taken thousands of swan shots

Living by the River Teme in Dinham, Ludlow, he soon noticed the wildlife.

"Living in Ludlow there is quite a bit of nice landscape, there's the castle, and I was blessed with a couple of swans who used to come up the bottom of the garden, so I started to document them," he said.

His shot of female swan Delilah taking flight was picked as the Shropshire Star's Star Witness £100 winner for August, which Mr Richards said was "pretty spectacular".

Mr Richards said that each year he had taken pictures of the swans and cygnets, to the point where they now recognise him.

"I have a special call that I use, I've known them that long," he said.

"You used to be able to get special swan food that I'd feed them, and they would eat out of my hand – but I would never try to get too close as I want to keep them wild."

He said he didn't feed them any more, but they still recognised his call. "Swans have a memory," he said.

He said there were three swan couples on the river that he called Romeo and Juliet, Bonnie and Clyde and Samson and Delilah.

"I've taken thousands of pictures of those swans, but it's hit and miss. You can never predict when they're going to take off."

"I saw Delilah running across the water and just grabbed my camera and got a couple of shots," he said.

  • Check out more of John's photos at www.photographybymonk.com

  • Be a part of our Star Witness gallery at shropshirestar.com/starwitness - you could win £100 as our monthly winner

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