Black-backed Woodpecker On Charred Bark.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Rare in my parts, and uncommon within its normal range, the Black-backed Woodpecker loves newly burned forests to forage for food. True to documented behaviour, this individual was found in an area that burned this past summer during our drought. Note the charred bark of the pine tree. The blueish tint to its feathers is as observed and part of its normal colouration...

Canon 7D + 100-400L @350mm, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/200s., f/6.3, ISO 800 (settings histogram checked), an errant snowflake near the bill cloned out, as well as a couple of white specks on the plumage.

P.S. Happy New Year to all on BPN!!:S3:


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[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Dan, this is an awesome shot. Like the sober colors & habitat.
happy new year to you too.

[Jack Breakfast]

What a find! Well done!

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Daniel! I like the pose, exposure, IQ, snow BG and composition. Congrats on your rare find.

[dankearl]

Great find and very nice photo!
The tree bark is nice and the sort of high key BG really works with the bird.
Congratulations on a fine shot.

[Nick Palmieri]

I think the bright BG works with this dark bird. very nice capture.

[Don Nelson]

Excellent image, Dan
How did you get so close? Blind? camo? Calls?
We have them in the burns here in the Cascades, but they are incredibly skittish birds (along with the Three-Toed Woodpecker).
Happy New Year!

[Shawn Zierman]

Oooo dang, you nailed this frame! Love the light quality/exposure work.
Really sweet image of the Mrs. and the natural history aspect with the burnt
trunk/species connection.

[gail bisson]

What a treat to see!
I like the slight diagonal line created by the tree trunk and thank you for the story.
As always, I like the IQ. You have shown the coloration of the bird perfectly.
No nits from me on this lovely image,
Gail
Happy New Year to you as well!

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Very nicely captured Daniel! Great IQ and head angle on this one. Just a tad more room on the bottom for me.

[Bill Dix]

Congrats on finding this guy. I'd love to see one some day. This makes a very compelling image, almost b&w, with the slight blue hint as you noted, and a bit of eye color. Nice pose and comp.

Happy New Year to you.

[Satish Ranadive]

Daniel Sir:
Magnificent image.Seeing for the first time.It's always great pleasure to see uncommon bird in our area.
Love the composition beautiful exposure and great details.
Happy New Year to you too.

Regards,
Satish.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dan, this has a nice black and white feel to it, with a splash of colour added for taste. Well exposed, sharp, and maybe a bit more on the bottom for the rest of the virtual tail.

Happy New Year to you too.

[Richard Unsworth]

HNY Daniel

CLASSY

presume handheld and quite close as you were at 350
like the subtle color here and interesting facts as presented
the positioning is spot on and as they are active not an easy one to get;indeed first time I have seen this species presented

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Excellent eye contact, exposure and details. Love the trunk and a view of the foot. I'd move him just a tad bit up in the frame and would remove the water/snow falling right above your sig.

Whenever I feel the need to upgrade to a longer lens, your images remind me that good field craft is more important than focal length.
I resolve to work on that this new year!
Happy new year to you.

[David N Smith]

Excellent image as usual Daniel. As said above the IQ is spot on as well as color. I really like the pose.

David

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thank you everyone! To note, this species is relatively short-tailed and is fully included in the image with room to spare...but yes, a bit more room below would work to.

[Jon Swanson]

These guys are tough to find here the last couple years. Ever think of making this a B&W?

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks Jon, no I had not think of B&W...but it's true it would work well here.