Northern Flicker

Gallery: AvianPosted February 18, 2018192 views7 comments

The Red-shafted variety that we have in the Northwest. We had 2 or 3 inches of snow this morning-an unusual event, so I went out to the blind to see if I could get something for this week's Weekly Challenge. This flicker decided to be fairly cooperative at one point. He was still very skittish, so I didn't dare try to adjust the zoom which made the image pretty tight. I added some canvas on top and chopped the left side a bit. I did try rotating to a vertical format, but he flew, so I had to work with the horizontal images. There was also a dark branch or stump in the background immediately above the perch to the left of the bird and I cloned that out.

7Dii, Sigma 150-600 C @ 468 mm, Jobu Gimbal mounted to blind window, f/8, 1/500, iso 2000, Aperture priority, pattern metering. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped to 18.5 MP (see above). Taken this morning at 9:13 am.

Your comments and critiques are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Gary Minish on February 18, 2018 at 10:22 PM

Very nice color and detail on this Flicker, Dennis! The large version is a must see. Nice capture!

Registered on February 4, 2006, 625 Posts, 3583 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on February 18, 2018 at 10:38 PM

This morning was a good morning for you Dennis. This is a really nice look at this flicker. Great detail and light. I really like the slushy snow on the branch and the needles. The buffy colors of the chest and the beautiful splash of reds on the head are really nice.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Debapratim Saha on February 19, 2018 at 10:43 AM

Great detail ,exposure and pose,snow in the back ground has made this a beautiful high key image Dennis.

Registered on February 4, 2018, 26 Posts, 101 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on February 19, 2018 at 10:50 AM

Great high key image of this fellow. Well done.

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

Comment posted by David Schoen on February 19, 2018 at 2:45 PM

Excellent view of this Flicker. The large image really stands out nicely with respect to detail, pose, and color balance. Nice contrast between the bird and the out of focus snow in the background.

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

Comment posted by Genny K. on February 20, 2018 at 7:48 PM

That's gorgeous. So much detail, and the colors really show up, even that brownish-orange on its head looks rich. Those dots are mesmerizing, too. It doesn't feel tight to me, either. That little bit of snow on the branch definitely lets you know it's winter.

Registered on June 5, 2006, 132 Posts, 2001 Comments

Comment posted by David Rowe on February 22, 2018 at 4:13 AM

What’s this, Denis, or do I have yet more spots before the eyes? Seriously, though, this is a great take with excellent detail and interesting color palette. The composition works so well with the bird’s orientation directed diagonally.
David

Registered on December 20, 2013, 133 Posts, 286 Comments