Woody Woodpecker - In Your Face!

[Jim Neiger]

Osceola County, FL - 1D4, 600mm, hand held from boat, 1/2500, F4.5, ISO 800

[Henry Domke]

It's nice to present unique looks at birds. It's like discovering uncharted territory!
The problem with this image is all those twigs in the background. Would you consider removing them in Photoshop? I suspect that in 45-minutes you could do the job so well that no one could tell they were ever there.

Aesthetically I think that would help.
What do you think?

[Joel Eade]

Really unique perspective on a species that is difficult to capture even when perched! Great technique getting the head perfectly in focus. I don't mind the background as it gives a perspective where the bird just took off from.

[Holger Leyrer]

Wow, very cool image. Perfect timing. The twigs in the BG are ok for me.

[Henry Domke]

Here is a reworked version. This is a 30-second cleaning rather than 45-minutes. But it gives you an idea of how it might look with a clean background.
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[Miguel Palaviccini]

Jim,

Killer capture! While the background isn't ideal, the all blue background doesn't give you the perspective that you need. To me it seems that the bird is taking off from some sort of perch, and something needs to be behind him. Just my $0.02

Miguel

[Troy Lim]

It is the moment we all are striving for. Often time, we have no choice about the BG but the main issue here is the focus point. It was locked on the branch below the bird that is in the same depth with the tail. Handholding from the boat makes it even tougher. Good try.