Ladder-backed Woodpecker

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Past weekend, I visited a park about 30 miles from home to check out the 4-5 species of woodpeckers that are typically found there. They're usually high up in the pecan trees - easy to spot but not so easy to photography. That day was no exception - plenty of sightings, no keepers.
On the way back home, I was complaining about my sterile, new, subarban neighborhood that doesn't seem to attract anything but house finches and was wishing I had some of those pecans in my yard. I pulled in to the garage, and heard a familiar "pik pik".
I turn around and this gorgeous male ladder backed lands on an oak right across from the drive way, about a foot above the ground. He even gave me a minute to sneak around to get a better angle. Not the best woodpecker image, but I was ecstatic to say the least.
I now have blocks of suet hanging from every oak in my yard, just in case he comes back :)

50D, 300 2.8 IS, 2x
Av, 1/200, f6.3, iso 400. +0.5 ev in post.

[sorry about the lengthy story; had to share it]

[Jonathan Ashton]

I fully relate to your story - I can remember the first time I got woodpeckers in may back garden. I am not sure but is that an oak tree - anyway the barks is ideal to stuff bits of suet into - also peanuts work well, they can easily be cloned/patched. The advantage of this is you can select the are so that you get the light and the background of your choosing. Coming to the bird, it looks good but perhaps not just as crisp as it could be. I note the shutter speed was only 1/200 sec, this is OK if you are on a tripod and the bird keeps still for that duration. Don't be afraid to crank up the ISO, provided the image is well exposed I think you will be very pleased with the results, I use a 50D and 7D frequently at ISO 800/1000 and sometimes apply Topaz denoise5 at the lowest or low setting and I am very pleased with the results.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Thanks for the story, a great read and most people could certainly relate to it! :)
Now that you have the suet etc set up you should be able to nail "the" shot sooner or later. As is, this is wonderful considering you had to move quickly to catch the action. The diagonal pose of the bird upright in the frame is very appealing. I think it's better to reduce exposure in the PP rather than increase as it can introduce some unwanted and very naughty noise. :) Congrats!

[Marina Scarr]

Great story and good capture. Love the BG and how he is near the hole in the tree. I think your image could go a tad lighter and sharper. I brought it into PS and add some light with a curves adjustment and slight amount more sharpening and it gave the image a little more pop.

Hope the bird comes back to your yard!

Marina

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Thanks for the all the constructive feedback. Excellent tips that I will keep in mind and hopefully put to good use.
Marina, thanks for taking the time to PP the image. I tried your suggestions and it did give the improve the image quite a bit. I also did a 2x3 crop which seemed better to me.
I now need to go dig in the educational resources for any information on calibrating a monitor. The image looks different of the 5 monitors I've viewed it through. The OP looks bright on the monitor I originally worked with :o