Found this little Namaqua dove (male- the female does not have the black front) at a waterhole in Kgalgadi Transfrontier Park end last year. There was a group drinking and then resting in a shady acacia tree across from the waterhole. It was quite harsh but the filtered light in the tree helped a lot.
Cropped some vegetation off the LH side, exposure adjusted, selective levels & curves, vignette & sharpening. Decided to leave thorns in front of body as is- this is a habitat shot, these little guys like nesting in thorn bush. C & c welcomed as always.
EXIF:Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II N
Date/Time: 2008:12:27 15:04:13
Shutter speed: 1/1250 sec
Aperture: 8
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 1000
Focal length: 700mm
Really a lovely pose Betsie and a very charming composition. A typical dove kind of pose and I love the eye contact. The detail and exposure is superb !!! Congratulations !
Very nice pose, and I don't mind the habitat in front of the bird. I wonder if lightening the eye just a tad would show more of the details there. Well done. Dave
Betsie, what an interesting looking dove! It's always fun to see different species from around the world here and I have too wonder about its markings. Well captured, I like the pose and the habitat adds to this well. Although I might get rid of that errant green on the far right of the branch.
Beautiful detail Betsie and I really like the warmth of the filtered light. Do you have any spare canvas below for the virtual tail or is it too distracting?
Thanks all, for the comments and helpful recommendations.
Dave L: I have done some lightening of the eye, more started looking strange.
Rob D: No canvas below, too busy to successfully add on, I thought, but agree that would be good for the virtual tail, especially since they have quite long tails.
Namaqua dove
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