This swan was talking up a storm.  I don't think he liked me sneaking around with my camera, even though I tried to keep my distance by using a telephoto lens.

Working with wild critters is always a challenge.  As stated earlier, I was using a short telephoto lens.  I wanted some out of focus cattails in the bottom of the photo that would suggest the swan was partly hidden.  I liked the post sticking out of the water in the upper left - it served as both depth of field and to optically balance the swan in the lower right.  As the swan paddled around, I moved laterally on the bank to maintain this relation.  FINALLY, the swan turned in the correct direction and I was ready with a quick shutter release the next time he opened his mouth - making the photo a little more interesting.