Pil. Woodpecker/redox2

Gallery: AvianPosted April 18, 2017279 views9 comments

Woodland Gardens, Decatur, Georgia
4/17/2017 – 2:47:05 PM
Canon EOS 7D EF400mm f/5.6L USM
1/160 sec; f/7.1; ISO 640
Manual; Evaluative metering
LR5, PS6, Curves to lighten all, Topaz Detail on green, Topaz Details 3 times with 3 different masks on bird, Curves again to lighten all some more

I don't know how the processing will look, but as far as capturing the image, I was very lucky (assuming the processing is reasonable or I can get it reasonable), because this woodpecker flew to a log on the ground, and you can tell from my settings that it was dark, which is because of impending rain, and I was very lucky again because when there was light thunder the bird stopped moving for a few seconds and looked up. It would have been perfect if there had been light thunder and no darkness from the impending rain.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on April 18, 2017 at 2:04 PM

This is pretty neat. You got a nice pose from the woodpecker. Detailed look shows the eye isn't quite sharp. I would opened up to f/5.6 to buy a bit more shutter speed. Much higher ISO on the 7D does not produce clean images so sticking at 640 seems OK.

I think this needs to have more separation between the bird and the background to feel more like a forested scene. Here's a version with the greens of the background reduced in brightness, the log has been burned a little to avoid some of it's brightness and some selective dodging to add light to the bird were needed. You can click on this image to see a larger version.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on April 18, 2017 at 2:53 PM

IMHO it is a decent image considering your situation. Can't really comment on your processing as it is much more than I can do. But, thanks for sharing. I have been trying to get photos of the pileated woodpeckers in Funks Grove for months with no luck. Have only seen them twice! Good to see some one has gotten photos of a pileated!

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on April 18, 2017 at 3:03 PM

Yes, this is a little dark but the light probably didn't do you any favors. A nicely composed image though. More than likely, the little lack of sharpness was caused by movement of the bird. Once again, a place where a fill flash could have helped you out. I think Pileated Woodpeckers are difficult to photograph in that they really don't stay still and are spooked very easily, at least the ones in my neighborhood. Keith did an excellent job of improving the contrast and detail.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on April 18, 2017 at 9:10 PM

Nicely composed image Barbara, I have nothing additional to add that Keith and David didn't already cover. Always wanted to see on of these, not sure if they are common in your area or not, but this would have made me happy. :)

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on April 18, 2017 at 9:31 PM

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback, and thank you so much for the posted image, Keith.

I live in Florida and have only seen one there, about a month ago in Central Florida.

This week I'm visiting my daughter in Georgia and this is where I saw this one yesterday.

They definitely get spooked easily, and the one I saw in Florida never stopped moving. This one today stopped moving for a couple of seconds a few times, I think because of the light thunder, but I still didn't get a completely sharp shot. I was sitting on the ground before he flew to that log, and it's possible he didn't even see me. It was great luck, but I wish I could have done better with it.

Keith, I'll work with it according to what you said and did in your image. Thank you again.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on April 18, 2017 at 9:52 PM

Here is a redo, but I don't think I matched what Keith did completely. Let me know what you think.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 18, 2017 at 11:06 PM

Nice, Barbara. They're not uncommon in the Pacific Northwest, but I've only gotten images once. Unfortunately, they used to come to my feeders before I took up bird photography. Sadly, the area that used to support them is now high density residential (I no longer live there).

The redo on this is getting close. I think just a slight brightening of the bird will get you really close to what Keith did.

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on April 19, 2017 at 10:04 AM

I couldn't tell any more of the difference in the selective lighting on the bird, so I made the entire bird a little brighter. How is this one?

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on April 21, 2017 at 2:53 PM

I actually quite like this one! I'm a bit jealous you got such a good photo of him, as I have yet to get a proper one, haha. I agree with Keith on the background. It also looks like it isn't too sharp around the face.

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments