nighthawks
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I love a scene like this.
When I was composing it I saw the perspective and fire-escape,but photography offers the opportunity to dissect a scene once we have it up on the computer screen. we can see the relationships and details which were hiding in front of us while on location.
Then I also noticed even though the alleyway, quite inhospitable it at least was lit up while I was standing in darkness.
a night of freezing drizzle, steam and smoke.
----- Yes, I did go inside to experience this establishment.
It was like a sauna in there. It was too late for a coffee so I ordered a Pepsi and sat down to breath in the ambiance.
Just me, the cook and some guy who apparently works there, but never looked up from his newspaper....
All that was missing was a film director and camera crew...
---- it's up to you to write the script ----
I went searching for hook-billed kite in the Anahuac Refuge. No kites, but many nighthawks were flying around and regularly resting on fence posts. No people were around, so they didn’t seem terribly bothered by my presence. I took this shot from inside my vehicle. The bird landed. I stopped, pointed my lens and shot away. Conveniently, the sun was directly behind me and straight on the nighthawk, creating a gleam in the eye. The light is also ample enough that we can see the pupil, a rarity in an eye so dark.
A nighthawk can only feed while in flight. Notice its very short beak. It is unable to forage on the ground or in bushes or trees. It feeds exclusively by flying about with mouth open grabbing insects out of the air.
Common Nighthawk among a group at Frantz Lake State Wildlife Area
"Long-distance migrant. Common Nighthawks migrate at all hours of the day in large flocks, on one of the longest migration routes of any North American bird. Most travel over land through Mexico and Central America, although many do pass through Florida and Cuba, flying over the Gulf to reach their wintering grounds in southern South America. Common Nighthawks are among the last migrants to return to their breeding grounds in spring." The Cornell Lab