Acorn Woodpecker

Gallery: AvianPosted January 5, 2011148 views9 comments

Another Acorn Woodpecker image from those shot this past weekend. I was surprised to find this specie's range was as far north as northern Oregon. I love the colors of these little guys and it was a great addition to my life list.

Larger version available, thanks for looking!

canon 7d
canon 600mm f4.L IS USM + 1.4TC
F/5.6 +.67 1/32 ISO 500
Manfrotto tripod, wimberley head, cable

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 5, 2011 at 12:41 AM

Lovely colors and a picture perfect pose showing the back and head profile. That background is literally a rainbow of hues! Think I see a slight sharpening halo. I read today about some birders in the Okanagan Valley of interior British Columbia viewing one of these guys in an orchard the last few days.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 5, 2011 at 1:43 AM

Really nice pose and detail!
Is my monitor "off" , or is the eye pink here??

Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on January 5, 2011 at 7:17 AM

Sandy,
The Acorn Woodpecker eyes are described in Audubons Encyclopedia as mostly whitish.
Being part color blind I don't pretend to question colors, but my screen of original image appears slightly milky, less opaque then the white displayed on wingbars and cheeks.

Craig

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by richard remington on January 5, 2011 at 8:46 AM

Craig,

Great pose and wonderful detail on the black feathers. They eye looks almost like he was surprised to see you? They are a great bird to photograph.

Registered on March 12, 2010, 105 Posts, 368 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 5, 2011 at 10:14 AM

great bg and nice pose and comp, Craig. I believe I'd try to pull some more detail out of those darks.

Sandy, ACWO eyes are typically whitish, often with a yellow tint, but I've seen a couple where the eye was pink like this.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on January 5, 2011 at 10:49 AM

The colors are amazing, Craig.

It almost looks as though he was posing for you.

I do need to ask questions if you don't mind.

You're using a cable release; how does that work when shooting with big glass. Are you using a hand on top of the lens to stabilize? How are you panning and tilting? ARGH! Help.

Thanks, Craig for explaining.

And the reason I'm asking these questions is that I just did a birding workshop and asked about using a cable release...

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on January 5, 2011 at 1:29 PM

Fantastic! The perch, pose and soft background all work together perfectly. I do see the sharpening halo, but that's fixable.

Registered on January 26, 2010, 68 Posts, 719 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on January 5, 2011 at 2:17 PM

Reposted after fixing the sharpening halo.
Carol H. I use a cable release on my big lens when the subject is fairly stationary, the lens is either mounted on a wimberley head (with the vertical and horizontal tightening knobs not loose but tightened slightly to prevent minor movements.) That setup is of course on a tripod, cable release one hand and the other on camera for minor composition adjustments.
I haven't mastered using a cable for panning/inflight shots, the weight of the 600 makes hand held shots more challenging. I hope this helps, Craig

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on January 6, 2011 at 6:31 AM

Excellent shot and redo!

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments