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Northern Flicker-Female
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Northern Flicker-Female

by Dennis Plank

Gallery: AvianPosted February 21, 2018205 views4 comments
I went out to my blind to get some more bird-in-snow images yesterday and there were three flickers contesting possession of the suet feeder.  The two females seemed to dominate it and the male just kept passing through.  While the position of the feeder doesn't allow direct photography, the birds coming in do present opportunities.  Note that I was getting crazy on this one and had decided to try David Schoen's iso8000 setting to try to get Chickadees in flight (no luck there).  However, I was surprised at the quality of image I could get at that setting.

7Dii, Sigma 150-600 C @ 347 mm, Jobu Gimbal mounted to blind window, f/8, 1/4000, iso 8000, aperture priority, pattern metering, -1/3 EV compensation and fill flash at -1 2/3 EV.  Processed in LR & PS CC.  Cropped to 10.5 MP from a horizontal original.  Taken at 9:21 am on February 20th.

Your comments and critiques are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Shirley Freeman on February 21, 2018 at 3:20 PM
Wow, he is beautiful, Dennis!  Great capture, with wonderful detail in those feathers.  I haven't tried doing fill flash on shots like this, so I just might have to try that.  I was also surprised that with the flash you still needed ISO 8000, and that the Dii managed it so well!  I am learning a lot from here at NPN, and so many of you are such great photographers, making me strive the more to improve.  Thank you. 
Registered on May 27, 2017, 77 Posts, 844 Comments
Comment posted by David Schoen on February 21, 2018 at 5:02 PM
Pretty clean for iso 8000.  Nice detail and color.  I like the pose.  Someone once remarked that all their Flicker photos made the bird look stuffed.  This one is lively but I can't get that thought out of my head every time I try to take a picture of one.
Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments
Comment posted by David Rowe on February 22, 2018 at 4:24 AM
Your second take on the Northern Flicker is equally good when compared with the first posting. This vertical crop works exceedingly well. David
 
Registered on December 20, 2013, 133 Posts, 286 Comments
Comment posted by Nate Chappell on February 22, 2018 at 4:57 PM
Looks great for iso 8000, nice portrait Dennisdevil
Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments