An extremely common bird, but they have interesting plumage when observed closely. This one spent quite some time hanging around the far side of my ground pool yesterday and gave me some nice opportunities.
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I did a lot of cleanup on the background. It’s always hard to know when to quit. Your 2 cents worth?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
A7Riv, FE 200-600 + 1.4 TC @ 400mm, tripod with gimbal head, f/9, 1/400, iso 2000, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped to 7536x5456. Minor exposure adjustments, cleanup of background and a bit of burning. Taken yesterday at 10:47 AM under cloudy skies.
Dennis, I am pretty sure this is the best look at a Mourning Dove that I have ever viewed. I love their plumage, and have managed to snap a few shots of them out my window, but I don’t have this lovely setting that you have, and so my shots will never compare. The reflection is really nice. The pond and the background (which looks great to me), looks so natural. Outstanding!
What a stunner. I’ve always thought mourning doves more beautiful and intricate than people generally assume. You’ve proven that here. The feathers are so perfectly delineated - the edging around the primaries and back feathers. The dark spots and change to cream on the underside. Great stuff. So of course you had to outdo yourself and get a reflection of a bit of behavior, too. Fab all around.
The others’ comments are in sync with mine so nothing further other than the green blade of grass over the dove’s tail feathers is so very, slightly distracting. The collared doves are trying to displace the mourning doves here.
