Hey, little buddy, there's plenty for everyone!

[Ian Cassell]

Gila Woodpecker on Saguaro
Canon 7D
Canon 500/4 + 1.4x
1/1250 sec f/7.1 ISO 400


Viveza 2
CS6
Small crop for comp.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Ian,

I like what you are doing here, very unique and original look and feel. This is challenge to crop, consider a bit tighter and removing some from the bottom, upper left hand corner and left side,..lets see what others say. Assume this was a tripod and later in the day.

Very nice moment with nature, you are telling a story with the camera,...well done.

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, Jeff. Yes it was on a tripod, but at about 7:15 am (sunrise here is about 5:45 at the moment). Harsh sun hits quickly here in the desert southwest.

I did struggle with the crop and you might have a point ... I'll play a bit more. I was trying to avoid clipping off the Gila's shadow, but maybe that should not have been a concern.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Ian,

The original crop is fine (play with it a bit) and I would not clip and parts. I would consider removing some from the bottom and left hand side,..but all in all,..a nice and original picture. I like it!

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Ian, I like the concept and interaction shown by the image. You have good exposure and a surprisingly good amount of depth of field. As for the composition, I feel that there is too much empty space at the bottom of the image, and would move the bird down in the frame if you have the canvas. Otherwise a crop from the bottom would help but then you are getting into a very short and long pano. The shadow doesn't matter to me, in fact it is larger in the frame than the bird so I wouldn't worry about losing it.