I managed to get these photos of the wonderful Mute Swan family thanks to such a spectacular 'coincidence' that it makes me smile just thinking about it. My husband and I were driving from the parade that our theater group walked in and heading to the theater that we were doing a show at that night and as we were crossing a bridge that crossed a pond, and I just happened to look over at just the right time to see the Mute swan family paddling around. My husband drove up to the next parking lot, and we went back- when I got to the bridge (thankfully there was a nice wide sidewalk) they were so far back in the pond that I was afraid the photos were not going to come out worth anything... I ended up sending up a silent request that they come closer. Next thing I know, they are all heading straight for me. They ended up bringing their babies literally right up to the bridge (bridge was only about 4 feet above the water, and they brought the babies to about 2 feet out from the bridge pylons) They were so close for most of the time that I stayed there that I had to un-zoom my camera lens as much as possible in order to get them in the photos. This particular photo was them as they neared the bridge.