Red-breasted Nuthatch

[Daniel Cadieux]

I have a soft spot for nuthatches, so whenever one presents itself for a good photo opportunity I don't hesitate even if I have a multitude of images of them :-) They are easily attracted with seeds, so the trick is to get them to pose in front of a clear, unobstructed, and colourful background by strategically placing those seeds to lure them so. Once in a good spot a small pishing noise often gets them to stop for a split second, enough time to snap a frame or two, before they continue on their never ending pursuit of food...

Canon 7D + 100-400L @300mm, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/250s., f/6.3, ISO 800, natural light, handheld, ~80% FF, NR to BG, and selective sharpening of subject only.

[Gary Esman]

Hi Daniel, I like this little guy. Love watching them bounce back and forth from our feeders. Quick little buggers. I find the DOF here interesting. With the branch directly behind him and being out of focus it making him pop from the screen. Like the colors in the background!

Gary.

[Stu Bowie]

Dan, this pose shows off just about everything on the nuthatch. Good HA to show the detail and different colours, and a good view of the folded back wings. You pretty much nailed the sharpness, and well done for 'choosing' a killer BG.

[Grace Scalzo]

One can never have too many excellent nuthatch images. Love the background here. The exposure looks perfect.

[Roger Clark]

Daniel,

A beautiful image with lots of feather detail. Following on the recent thread where people seem confused about phase angle, this image is a good example of intermediate phase angle that delivers lots of fine detail. The light is to the left, and a little diffuse, but collimated enough to make the shadow on the right side of the stick. The light also creates small shadows in the feathers, giving the wonderful feather detail. If the light source was behind you, there would be much less feather detail. It looks like the phase angle is about 45 degrees.

Roger

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice Dan, I like the BG and topside details, I would have preferred if the perch was in focus too but from your settings this was not possible. great work

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Gorgeous bg, sweet pose, perfect comp and nice sharpness. Such an endearing creature - I too would photography it every chance I got!

[Jim Crosswell]

A real beauty Daniel! I like the pose, HA, sharpness and fall BG.

[dankearl]

Great BG and very sharp and detailed for 1/250. Nice pose, it is hard to not get them upside down like they usually are!

[David N Smith]

Beautiful picture Dan. The sharpness is right on and the BG is perfect for me.

Dave

[Raymond Lee]

Great capture Daniel! Perfect sharpness and exposure!

[Craig Brelsford]

There's much to enjoy and learn from in this image, Daniel, as well as in your introduction above. Once one has photographed a certain species many times, it pays to keep shooting it, because the previous experience is like a tool that would otherwise go to waste. You know nuthatches, so just keep on shooting 'em, Daniel.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot. Love the pose, wonderful background, and the detail is superb.
Well done.