Red Bellied Woodpecker

[jfranciskay]

Backyard setup, no cropping, just out of camera with dust removal. It was raining so you can see the raindrops in the BG. No idea why the drop down at the bottom is nearly horizontal, but it was pretty windy.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4429521125_0bd0fe4906_o.jpg


Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Lens: 500.0 mm
Focal Length: 700.0mm (1.4TC)
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure Time: 1/50
ISO equiv: 400

[Jim Fenton]

I think that images I see from the MKII or MKIIN really stand out for me...don't know what it is, but it's there.

Wonderful background color and smoothness.

Exposure looks good on the subject although the fungi loos hot and could be toned down a bit.

Might also darken those reds a bit as they look a bit too lively for a subdued weather day.

[Adams Serra]

Beautiful bird and BG, i find the oof part of the perch in the LR a little distracting.

[Danny Laredo]

Sweet image. Nice pose BG and colors.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Excellent detail and a superb BG with a very pleasing composition. I agree with the above comments. Many thanks for sharing.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Strong image, composition is spot-on IMO, 1/3 tree, 1/3 bird and 1/3 BG. Is that exposure time correct - TFS?

[jfranciskay]

Thanks Jeff - Yes the exposure time really was 1/50sec. It was heavy overcast and raining and I was at F8...Gotta love Image Stabilization for these situations :). I was actually very lucky to get him to stand still for this shot. I took and burst of 5 frames and the 2 before and 2 after I threw away because of motion blur...

[jfranciskay]

@Jim Fenton - thanks for the comments. I actually just tried using my Gretag color checker to calibrate my camera colors in ACR under these conditions. I used the calibration on this shot (that was the only correction I made). The birds head is really quite vivid, but I think I will have to take another look at my calibration because it does seem a bit over the top now that you mentioned it :)

[Simon Bennett]

Very sharp, good pose, nice setup.