Made it out to my "kestrel fields" last night. Haven't been there in about 2 months so I wanted to see what was happening.

The day was beautiful until I got there. Heavy overcast skies made for fairly monotonous scenes.

First the "normal stuff". No keepers really, everything at ISO 800.

Then I shot this young fella with a smile on my face.

I'd like to title it "What an Herbivore Dreams of" :p

First shot ISO 200 with 300mm
Second shot ISO 1600 with 300mm + 2x TC

Then I came across this sad scene.

There are those who claim that humans are the only animals that can feel emotion. I watched this female for over 15 minutes and she certainly looked and acted very sad for her mate.

#5 is so very cute.

My heart breaks for the duck, sad indeed

I love them all except for the bunny. He acts like he's looking for something outside the photo. The rest are perfect. I do feel bad for the duck though. Also, I believe others critters can feel emotion. Have you ever had 2 dogs for years and had one die? The death sure does affect the remaining one.

Thanks for sharing these.

Thanks, Yarrow and Minnesota for looking.

Minnesota - I'm glad you brought up the point about the bunny. You're right about having the subject looking towards the center of the frame in the "classic" compositional setting. As I'm always trying to find the exception to the rules, I shot this intentionally that way. My hope was that it creates what I like to term "unbalanced tension" to mirror the timid nature of the rabbit. Trying to capture the over-the-shoulder nervousness and the feeling that he may bolt at any time. Thanks for the feedback :thumbsup:

Interesting concept. When I view it with that perspective in mind, I can see where you're coming from. We just have to open our minds a little more to see things a little differently.

Thanks for sharing the idea.

You can feel the tension of the bunny in the photo, like he just may turn and bolt back at any moment. The duck photos are heartbreaking; I also believe that animals grieve for their lost mates.

I like them all, the duck series is very sad.

Mike - thanks again. This forum is a great avenue to try different things to see how they're received.

brenhaf - I appreciate you taking the time to look and comment - thank you very much. And welcome to PR!

scott-devon - thanks for looking.