Rare in my parts, and uncommon within its normal range, the Black-backed Woodpecker loves newly burned forests to forage for food. True to documented behaviour, this individual was found in an area that burned this past summer during our drought. Note the charred bark of the pine tree. The blueish tint to its feathers is as observed and part of its normal colouration...
Canon 7D + 100-400L @350mm, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/200s., f/6.3, ISO 800 (settings histogram checked), an errant snowflake near the bill cloned out, as well as a couple of white specks on the plumage.
Excellent image, Dan
How did you get so close? Blind? camo? Calls?
We have them in the burns here in the Cascades, but they are incredibly skittish birds (along with the Three-Toed Woodpecker).
Happy New Year!
Oooo dang, you nailed this frame! Love the light quality/exposure work.
Really sweet image of the Mrs. and the natural history aspect with the burnt
trunk/species connection.
What a treat to see!
I like the slight diagonal line created by the tree trunk and thank you for the story.
As always, I like the IQ. You have shown the coloration of the bird perfectly.
No nits from me on this lovely image,
Gail
Happy New Year to you as well!
Congrats on finding this guy. I'd love to see one some day. This makes a very compelling image, almost b&w, with the slight blue hint as you noted, and a bit of eye color. Nice pose and comp.
Daniel Sir:
Magnificent image.Seeing for the first time.It's always great pleasure to see uncommon bird in our area.
Love the composition beautiful exposure and great details.
Happy New Year to you too.
Hi Dan, this has a nice black and white feel to it, with a splash of colour added for taste. Well exposed, sharp, and maybe a bit more on the bottom for the rest of the virtual tail.
presume handheld and quite close as you were at 350
like the subtle color here and interesting facts as presented
the positioning is spot on and as they are active not an easy one to get;indeed first time I have seen this species presented
Last edited by Richard Unsworth; 01-01-2013 at 12:57 PM.
Excellent eye contact, exposure and details. Love the trunk and a view of the foot. I'd move him just a tad bit up in the frame and would remove the water/snow falling right above your sig.
Whenever I feel the need to upgrade to a longer lens, your images remind me that good field craft is more important than focal length.
I resolve to work on that this new year!
Happy new year to you.
Thank you everyone! To note, this species is relatively short-tailed and is fully included in the image with room to spare...but yes, a bit more room below would work to.
Black-backed Woodpecker On Charred Bark.
Reply With Quote
