Speckled Pigeon ( Rock Pigeon )

[Stu Bowie]

Its all about the early morning light when I visit the Pilanesberg National Park. Find a subject, any subject, position yourself so the subject is against the distant mountain, and see what you can achieve.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 300mm F/2.8 +1.4 TC = 420mm
1/1600
F/5.6
ISO 800

Hand Held

[John Mack]

Great light. Excellent background. Really like the look back pose on the bird. I could see the bird a touch higher in the frame.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I agree Stu the light is magic, not a bad shot either! I like the look back pose and slightly ruffled feathers. The aperture choice looks good, instinctively I would have thought a bit wide but maybe the image has been cropped a little so the initial magnification was not so high. The darks and lights look to be very well damaged - great shot!

[Stu Bowie]

The aperture choice looks good, instinctively I would have thought a bit wide

Thanks Jon. My choice of aperture was due to looking for more SS. It was just after 6.00am. I know I can raise my ISO too, but do try and keep it down, even though when I have gone much higher, I have been happy with the noise results.

[annmpacheco]

What a lovely image Stu, beautiful subject and the colors are fantastic, like the head turn, the perch and that golden light, so well done!

[Dorian Anderson]

This is a really nice image, Stu! I might be tempted to crop it a bit tighter as the left/upper left portions of the frame feel a bit empty.

[Isaac Grant]

Overall this is very appealing. Beautiful tones, background and bird. Very nice.

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Stu, I really like the way the tones of the background tones complement the colours of the bird and the lovely warm light - looks really great!

Regards, Gerald

[David Salem]

Very appealing is right. Love the raised feathers and the nice pose and colors. Details and exposure look awesome too. Love the BG colors and texture. Well done Stu