Birds in Nature - images of wild birds by Richard Ditch

Subject: Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Place: Papago Park, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Date: October 2002
Equipment: Nikon N90S, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E (= 600/5.6), tripod
Film: Fujichrome Sensia 100
Exposure: Aperture priority matrix metered
Scan: Minolta Dimage, 90% of frame (cropped left side only)
Photo Shop: cloning to remove some bright sky I couldn't avoid while including this much of the tail

Commentary: My tendencies as a birder are to disregard abundant birds easy to see, and there are few birds "lower" than the widespread introduced feral pigeon in the eyes of birders. But as a photographer I try to see the beauty in every bird I encounter. I've tried to photograph this species before, but never found one in any setting that worked. This bird was sitting with more dignity than I've ever seen before above eye level on the side of a palm tree, and I really like the rich deep mahogany tones that make a perfect background for this bird.