Rock Dove

[Kerry Perkins]

Ha, sounds better than "common pigeon", right? :) Be careful - the eye is hypnotic!

Lately I've been interested in getting good shots of common birds, which can be just as challenging as the other kind!

Captured at the local duck park in late afternoon sun, just before the sun went down. Converted and cropped in LR2 then finished in CS4. Noise Ninja on the BG and USM on the birdy.

50D, EF400mm f/5.6L
Manual mode, f/5.6@1/1600 ISO 400 WB 5100K
AI Servo autofocus, hand-held no flash

[Doug Brown]

Love the feather detail and the nice iridescence. Perfect head turn. I would crop a little off the left and add the same amount to the right side of the frame.

[Kerry Perkins]

Thanks Doug! I played around with the crop for a while - will give that a try. :)

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Kerry One of the nicest you have posted !! Was thinking just what Doug said about the crop !! If you don't have room on the right just add canvas, will be easy !!! Love it !!!!

[Jeff Cashdollar]

With canvas on the right, it will be spot-on!

Nice one Kerry, I agree pictures with this detail and exposure quality are challenging.

[Kerry Perkins]

Moved the pigeon over in the frame, just a tad to the left. Thanks for the comments!

[Bob Decker]

There's a lot of color in pigeons. More than most folks realize. Good feather detail, sharp eye, a lot to like about this image.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Nice repost brother!

[Lance Peters]

Hi Kerry - Making the extraordinary from the ordinary. Love the fine feather detail - exposure is spot on and love that eye.
Big Congrats :)

[Alfred Forns]

Love the changes !!! Mighty fine !!!

[Bill Dix]

Lovely. I agree that the eye is really compelling. Repost helps.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Kerry, great job on this with the repost helping the image...

[Declan Troy]

Kerry, you have to split the difference. The AOU now calls them Rock Pigeons!

[Bob Miller]

Hi kerry....Love this image! Really love the iridescence against the dark backgrd. Your repost is right on. Big Congrats on a fine image!

[Bob Miller]

Hi kerry...one more thing. Can you tell me how you managed such a great background for this bird?

[Gail Spitler]

Hi Kerry
Very nice, and I like the assignment you've given yourself of getting good shots of common birds.

Cheers
Gail

[Kerry Perkins]

Thanks everyone for your comments!

Bob, the pigeon was sitting in the sun just next to a shady part of the ground next to the pond. With the fast shutter speed, the dark shady BG pretty much just went away. It was a bonus!