On a cool October morning, the mists on Packanack Lake were thick and swirling. The cool morning brought brisk waterfowl activity on the lake. When I awoke, I observed the bright, early morning sun shimmering on the mists of the water. I immediately rambled out into the early morning with my favorite camera and lens in search of the mute swans who were moving through the mists at the north end of the lake. When I composed a scene from the road that appeared to be set like a stage upon the water, one of the 12 swans on the lake that morning quietly drifted into the scene from the right sight of the viewfinder. I had intentionally stopped down my lens so that the bright morning light wouldn’t be so overbearing on the scene. This preparation caused the rest of the scene around the swan to go a bit darker, thus creating the natural stage that was acting out. As the mute passed through the swirling mist, I preserved the solitary bird in motion with it’s wake streaming out behind it. The eerie mood and composition are intentional. As the bird passed into stage right, I knew the photograph had been created. Within the hour the mists began to dissipate and the scene evaporated into the brightening day.