Red Belly

[Nick Palmieri]

Shot this guy yesterday at a local nature center. We had some perches set up for the nut hatches and there were feeders all around. This guy has some suet remaining on his beak. Tough guy to capture as he kept hiding behind the tree trunk. Shot with Canon EOS 1DMK4, 600mm, ISO 1000, f/5.6, SS 1/250. Yes the light was pretty horrible we were shooting over ISO 2000 at some points.

[Melissa Groo]

I think you did great with that "horrible" light Nick. The exposure is wonderful, the texture on the tree is interesting, and you have great sharpness and detail. I think these woodpeckers are tough to get, they sure can be furtive and fast moving. One minor thing--it may actually be the structure of the tree, but I would rotate CCW just a tad so it is straight up and down to the eye.

[Marina Scarr]

This is a very pleasing image, Nick. Comp works well for me. Love all the details in your tree and the great view of the bird's foot.

If it were mine, I would consider a 1-2 pt Color Balance adjustment of cyan b/c I am seeing an ever-so-slight reddish cast. You may not like the results, but at least you can see the difference. These WP usually have very pronounced feathers around their beaks and shoulders. I think I would give at least those spots a tad more sharpening.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Nick - for an uncooperative subject and not so great conditions, you came away with a definite keeper. Nice bg, pose, HA and details.

TFS,
Rachel

[dankearl]

Very nice Nick.
The light is nice, about perfect for this guy.
In the northwest we consider iso 2000, harsh!

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot.
Great pose, wonderful background, nice details, and love the light.
Well done.

[gary ellwein]

Well done under difficult conditions. The soft light, classic pose, good feather detail and clean bg works.

[christopher galeski]

nice image,like the soft light,like the BG,nice details.

[Shawn Zierman]

Very solid image of this handsome woodpecker.
I like the great background control and the color compliment going
on with the background and the tree trunk. Some fill flash seems ideal
for this type of lighting. A slight head turn to the bird's left would have
been even better...

[Satish Ranadive]

Magnificent image.Great exposure,nice lights,details,beautiful colors and BG.
Love the frame.

Regards,
Satish.

[Joe Senzatimore]

Nick, well done as are all your posts. Love the comp and color. Might have tried to get rid of the suet.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the perch, sharpness, BG and composition. Well done Nick!

[Wynand van Wyk]

Always love these types of images. The background is beautiful and colours are superb! Well captured.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I would be inclined to take that camera and lens out more often in horrible light!! Super shot, love the colours and the pose.

[Nick Palmieri]

Thanks guys. I didn't mean to imply the light was crap, sorry for that. The light was low, it was certainly very even. The problem was shutter speeds above 1/500s were few and far between.

[Dennis Zaebst]

I've been trying to get a decent photo of one of these guys for a couple of years now...they do move fast. A pair of them regularly visit my suet feeders, but so far, they hitch around and hide from me, or perch at an awkward angle.

Oh yes...your photo: Beautiful light and great capture all around. The BG is wonderful and the perch is very natural and not distracting. The Mark IV certainly handles the high ISO very well. TFS.

[David Salem]

Nice shot Nick. I got some shots of this species for the first time and they were in NY with probably the same kind of light. My shots look very similar and I was happy to get them.. P.S. I did remove the suet from the beak on mine. Nice work.