Red On Bark

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I had the pleasure of shooting this pair of red headed woodpeckers two yrs in a row now. I like this image because I really like the bark of the tree they nested in. I played around with crop choices and decided to go a little tighter than my first choice. I don't want to overwhelm the image with too much tree. I really like the textures and curves created here.
Canon 1DMIV 500mm f4L IS
ISO 640 F11 @1/200

[Henry Domke]

I'm so jealous! I've been trying to photograph Red-headed Woodpeckers all winter. There are several near my house but I can't get them to come down to eye level. I've put out suet and peanut butter for them but they are ignoring it. Do you have any suggestions? How can I get them to cooperate? They seem to like to fly up about 40-50 feet high and then look down at me and chuckle.

Your image has perfect tonal range and color. The pose, head angle and behavior all work well. I find the bird to be much more interesting than the dead tree so I wish it were a bit larger in the frame.

[Marina Scarr]

I like the composition you chose with the pecker in the upper left third. The textures and curves do work well. Looks as though you may have used flash here since I See a hint of it in the eye and the cavity appears a bit lit. Good thinking to walk around to the front of the nest tree! I hope they return again this year!

[David Salem]

I like the way the WPs colors pop against the tree so well. Definitely a tree with a lot of character and textures. The techs and detail looks great too. Well done Cheryl.

[keith mitchell]

Like the tree almost as much as the bird,composition looks spot on to me.

[Holger Leyrer]

I like the composition between bird and perch. The exposure control works good. The head turn is nice and colours are great too. Well done, Cheryl.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I like the composition you chose with the pecker in the upper left third. The textures and curves do work well. Looks as though you may have used flash here since I See a hint of it in the eye and the cavity appears a bit lit. Good thinking to walk around to the front of the nest tree! I hope they return again this year!

Good eye on that Marina and I can see how you would think that but I looked it up and flash was NOT used.