I spotted some cute little American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) early on Friday morning as they foraged in the vegetation adjacent to the observation tower at Huntley Meadows Park. The lighting was somewhat limited, but it was soft and beautiful and gives the photos an overall sense of peace and serenity, the start of a new day.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I was very taken with the 2nd shot Mike. The shape of the bent stem tracing the same arc as the shape of the bird’s head, in parallel. Fascinating photo!
Thanks, Liz. I really like that shot for the very same reason. Initially the bird was bent over within that arc, extracting seeds from the dried pods. I was hoping that the bird would pause in an upright position to allow me to get the shot that I envisioned–and then it happened.
Wow! Its really gorgeous!
Wow, that bottom photo is very nice. Great composition!
Thanks, Dan. The second image is my favorite, but I honestly thought viewers would gravitate towards the first one. I am always a little apprehensive when I leave that much negative space around a subject.
very beautiful, I very much like the framing in the second image. Nicely balanced.
Thanks, Ben. Often I will go in tight with cropping an image, but this one lent itself to a looser composition with a lot of negative space. Instinctively I liked the second image more than the first, but I thought others would prefer the initial, somewhat more traditional pose.