Starbound Swallow
Photographer: Gurnit Atwal
click to view full-screen
1/6400 • f/18 • ISO 1250 • Sony A1ii • 122mm • Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II
I often joke that swallows move at "warp speed," seeing them more as space travellers than birds. This inspired a photographic project: capturing a swallow in a scene resembling outer space. I found my location at an urban park marina bridge. By intentionally underexposing the reflective water, the sun’s reflection became a giant star, while specs of plastic and plant life transformed into pinprick stars, creating the perfect cosmic backdrop.
The conceptual simplicity—capturing a swallow flying directly into the sun's reflection with a black background—was severely complicated by two factors: the swallows' extreme speed and a persistent Toronto heatwave. To achieve the perfect shot in-camera, I committed to spending hours daily, during the sun’s peak, battling the heat for over a month. Though I was ready to quit many evenings, I was inevitably back the next day. After weeks of effort, everything finally aligned. The iridescent colours on the Barn Swallow’s wings were the final, stunning detail, perfectly completing the vision by resembling the mythical Bifrost bridge, a perfect metaphor for the seemingly instantaneous nature of a swallow’s flight.
