Its all about the light

[Stu Bowie]

Its worth driving for one and three quarter hours to the Pilanesberg National Park and coming away with light like this. This Speckled Pigeon posed nicely against the distant mountain BG and I came away with plenty different shots as he later preened himself. Taken early morning.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 300 F/2.8 +1.4 TC = 420mm
1/1000
F/5.6
ISO 800

Hand held

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Agreed Stu - beautiful shot - everything about it (focus, detail, BG) is just perfect. Well done on this one!

[Loi Nguyen]

.. the light and the BG!!! Good job Stuart. The only bit of slight distraction is the dark shadow under the bird. looks like the light had come up a bit strong, but you handled it well here. Loi

[Jonathan Ashton]

Top notch Stu - gorgeous colours very worthwhile the effort. I quite like the composition and the log it is a little unusual.

[shane shacaluga]

Lovely details and warm morning feeling coming through in this shot

Like the composition and mountain BG works very well with the subject

TFS

[Marina Scarr]

What a stunning bird in sublime light, Stuart. Love the color palette, and the perch and BG colors work great with your subject.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Stunning light and clarity here mate. I haven't been there in ages...how's the water level? PK action?

[Randy Stout]

Stuart:

A real beauty wonderfully highlighted by the morning light. Harmonious colors, just enough variation in bg to add some depth.

Worth the trip for sure!

Cheers

Randy

PS: if the dark shadow on the branch is of any concern, a tiny touch up with detail extractor would soften it nicely.

[Shawn Zierman]

Sublime image in all regards...the lighting is very rich. I really like the image quality, particularly in regards to the way you have sharpened the image. I've never seen the species before....this is a great introduction!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Stu , nice and simple an still bang in my face . Stunning light /colors and IQ .
Very well done .

I am in SA in october and have 5 days at the end of the trip , not fully planned . Is Pilanesberg worth a visit for 5 days ? , been there 12 years ago, was very busy with people .

TFS Andreas

[Daniel Cadieux]

Sweet light indeed! The subject helps too as it looks great. Neat perch, beautiful BG.

[keith mitchell]

Stuart in my eyes it looks perfect, that beautiful light in the bg is icing on the cake,you must be very pleased with this.

Keith.

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks a stack for all the feedback everyone. Always appreciated.

[Tom van den Brandt]

It indeed is all about the light! And the light you captured here is beautiful Stuart. I think everything is just perfect for me. Beautiful details on the bird, great colors, very nice perch and wonderful BG. A Beauty!

Tom

[mohammad reza shahab]

Hi Stuart,
great light,BG,pose and perfect details.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the DOF, light, sharpness, details, composition and complimentary BG. Very well done Stuart!

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent pose and details in great light, Stuart. Nice background and perch, for this handsome Pigeon.

[David Salem]

You are so right Stuart. I tell people that there are three things to know about good avian photography, light, light and light. It's the most important thing. Look what it did for this dove. Not that your skill didn't have anything to do with it, but it just make for a much higher percentage of beautiful shots like this. Great colors and detail in this as the killer light has enhanced those aspects. Nice work.

[Joseph Przybyla]

I am a little late to the party but a beauty Stuart. Thank you for sharing.

[gail bisson]

The light is DIVINE!! That is why we all get up early , in the hopes of getting a magical moment like this.
Love it,
Gail