Mourning Doves

[Maritimer1]

Sometimes I see photos of birds that have a similar name to species here in eastern Canada (like a robin), but they often look quite different. So, this is what we call a Mourning Dove. Surely there are other varieties in CinC world?

These little ones caught my attention as I was waiting for my mom to come out of her house yesterday. I grabbed my camera and caught the one on the left and then she/he was joined by the other. The lens was my "grandpa" lens; an older Canon 80-210 f/4.


Mourning Doves by M.J. Hencher, on Flickr

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Myra,

That's quite a pleasant study of them.

I find the crack of daylight between the fence boards and the top edeg distracting though and would suggest it be subtley cloned out.

Never-the-less, it is still a nice picture with good colours, well done,

[FrankMi]

Hi Myra, this photograph has a lot going for it! Sharp subjects but soft colors, excellent bokeh, and nice vignette amoung others. Very well executed!

[KHarmon]

Great capture. Those are definiely morning doves....we hardly see them anymore in this part of Texas since the white wings moved in and ran them off.

[ScoutR]

Hi Myra, sorry for coming in so late. I saw this the other day and meant to comment but got called away.

Beautiful shot, I love the pose. They are such gentle birds and this shot show that very well. The colours, the pose and the presentation combined make a very pleasing shot. The bright spots - well - it's such a nice shot I think I could live with them.

Wendy

[conkerwood]

Firstly you have an excellent eye for a pic, I can't explain why but it has quite a romantic feel to it so well done for seeing it. Normally I would be a little concerned that the subject/s is/are too central but this works because the body line of the bird in the front creates a nice triangle with the fenceline. The bird on the right also creates a less obvious triangle with the implied extensions of its body so a good balance is achieved. The blurred light area between the birds works well in joining them as a subject, almost heart like (ah the romantic bit again, but maybe I am just an old softie) but I find the yellow a little too strong. I am also distracted by the green chromatic problem on the underside of the branches which, while blurred and therefore not overpowering, is quite obvious but easily fixable in P.S. Again I normally find vignettes contrived and intrusive but this works and adds to the softness and romance but maybe curved corners instead might be a thought. The key to bird photography is I believe, the eye. They must be sharp. The bird on the left is reasonably sharp but the bird on the right is quite soft around the eye and the feathers lack detail. I would also suggest a little more contrast on the birds themselves plus a touch of selective sharpening because they get a little lost in the darkness and detail of the fence and the brightness of the background. Put the pic on your screen and stand right back. For me it should be the subject that is most dominant even at a distance, but I think you will find that the doves merge with the bright background and the fence is the most prominent. My final suggestion is that there seems to be quite a bit of noise. There's no info about your ISO but I would think a little work with noise reduction software (but delicate so as not to lose detail) would enhance the pic. If all that sounds like I am being very negative then I apologise, thats definitely not my intention because I like the pic and I would have been pleased to have taken it myself. But I think that with just a little tweeking it could be lifted further.

Hope this helps
Peter