Looking back

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Looking back

February 16, 2013 by Mike Powell

I love the way this Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) turned its head to look back at me yesterday and how the soft background complements and enhances its beauty.

Posted in Art, Birds, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, dove, Huntley Meadows Park, mourning dove, Zenaida macroura | 12 Comments

12 Responses

on February 16, 2013 at 8:37 am | Reply Vicki

lovely photograph.. I have not seen a dove like this one where I live.
- on February 16, 2013 at 8:43 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Vicki. I like this photo for its artistic qualities more than for just recording the presence of the bird (which is sometimes good enough for me). Perhaps you are just a it too far north. According to the stats on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/lifehistory), there are about 350 million of these doves in the U.S. and they are the most widespread and abundant game bird in North America.
on February 16, 2013 at 9:10 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

I see them all the time, but they also see me and off they go.
on February 16, 2013 at 9:36 am | Reply Sue

Love the color in this photo, Mike. Great pose, too.
- on February 16, 2013 at 10:11 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Sue. There is something really peaceful and calming for me about this shot–a combination of colors, subject, and pose.I’m glad you like it.
on February 16, 2013 at 10:16 am | Reply Norunn Mølsæter

Nice!
on February 16, 2013 at 11:44 am | Reply Cornel A.

Lovely!
on February 17, 2013 at 1:28 am | Reply lylekrahn

A lot of art in this one!
- on February 17, 2013 at 5:58 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Lyle. Photography for me is a strange and interesting mixture of art and science. Some days I worry more about getting the camera settings right and other days I focus more on capturing the beauty I see.
  - on February 17, 2013 at 10:43 am lylekrahn
    
    So true. It’s hard to give them equal weight on any photo.
on February 17, 2013 at 5:23 am | Reply caleephotography

This is so great!! the pose, the colours, everything is perfect! You truly are a bird whisperer Mike 😀
- on February 17, 2013 at 5:53 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. There are so many time when I wish that were so. It’s interesting that I have managed to get this same pose with a couple of different birds and it’s becoming my favorite. However, it’s tough to put myself in a situation in which I can look down a bird’s back and then have him turn his head to the side. I think it’s a flattering pose and it even makes the bird look slimmer.