Acorn Woodpecker and Repost

Gallery: AvianPosted February 26, 2014150 views11 comments

I haven't posted for quite awhile; it's great to be back!

This is a female acorn woodpecker, taken on my property last spring.

D300, 300f4, 1.4tc, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 500. Comments and criticism are very welcome. I am particularly interested in your take on darks and lights, noise levels, background, overall composition. This is about a 50% crop from a horizontal shot. Please check out the larger image. Thanks for looking.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on February 26, 2014 at 2:08 AM

Welcome back. Woodpeckers can be difficult to capture. This is a nice shot with a great background. Nice job.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on February 26, 2014 at 2:35 AM

I like the subject and the composition. Nice sharpness/detail.

It is a bit flat and has a minor blue color cast. Looking at the histogram shows a narrow central peak where the majority of the pixels reside, with long tails on both sides to the blacks and the whites.

Try adding a levels adjustment layer and clicking on the Auto button (with the white point set to 245 and the black point set to 10) and see if you like the tone/color/contrast a bit better.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 26, 2014 at 2:42 AM

Excellent job on the exposure and superb detail, Jim. I like your composition, though the way it's oriented makes it look like the tree trunk is smaller at the bottom than the top-you might want to give it a touch of CW rotation before cropping to make the edge of the trunk vertical.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on February 26, 2014 at 10:54 AM

Really like the 'peek-a boo' aspect of this. Great detail and colour

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on February 26, 2014 at 2:58 PM

Excellent exposure and detail here Jim, I think you could warm it up a bit.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on February 26, 2014 at 3:55 PM

Very nice image - curious look in the pose and eyes... Well done ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on February 26, 2014 at 5:41 PM

Great pose and background colours.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on February 26, 2014 at 6:17 PM

Thanks for all of your kind and helpful comments.

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on February 27, 2014 at 7:38 PM

Wonderful detail in all of the feather groups. The throat has a nice white and the detail in the black feathers is holding. I don't see any issue with noise. The lighting was flat and while that is probably in keeping for the habitat, I might push the midtones up a bit just to see if it adds a little more life to it.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on February 28, 2014 at 12:34 AM

Here is a repost based on your comments. I like the overall look better than the original, but the whites on the face seem pretty blown out. Please let me know your opinion of this change.

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on February 28, 2014 at 12:27 PM

I happen to like the original as everything looked good to me. The pose, look and complimentary background colors work with this composition and you have have detail where it counts, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments