Behind the Photo: Songbird Feathers

I was stuck in the far West End during the recent snowstorm, but I ventured out to take my daughter sledding in nearby Tuckahoe Park. While standing on a small hill near a stand of oak trees I noticed feathers floating down from the sky. The feathers in this image landed neatly together, as if by design.

I’m afraid the songbird might have met a violent death — by a bird of prey, I’m guessing, because tufts of feathers were scattered everywhere on the fresh snow. I shot this image with an iPhone and it was so bright I could barely see the feathers on the screen. The amazing feat here is that the iPhone metered the image correctly and didn’t blow out the highlights.

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