What We Take For Granted

Orange Eye, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I recently had a few minutes to kill while enjoying a typical American fast food lunch. Looking for a quiet place to eat, I stopped at a local park hoping to capture a few images of the ducks and geese that live nearby. As I was standing next to a fence photographing the waterfowl, I noticed a few pigeons perched nearby. I turned the lens to the fellow featured here and fired off a couple of shots. I then focused my attention back on the swimming geese.

Later that evening, while reviewing the captures on my computer, I was amazed to see the color and beauty of the pigeon. I never realized the brilliant color that adorns the eye of the common pigeon, not to mention the green sheen from the feathers. Of all the photos taken, the pigeon proved to be the most interesting subject.

The lesson hit home to me. I have always considered this breed of bird to be rather mundane. Many consider it a nuisance and a pest. Now that I have seen the beauty and poise they possess, I will never look at them the same way again.