Colosseum Pigeon

A pigeon caught mid-flight near the Colosseum — wings spread against the ancient stone, the kind of unposed moment that travel photography sometimes hands you for free if the shutter is quick enough. Rome's pigeons have been living in the city's monuments for as long as the monuments have existed; they are essentially part of the architecture by now, and a single bird crossing a frame this old gives the building back a sense of scale.

Photographed in October 2016 in black and white during my first time in Italy.