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Thread: Down sized downy female

  1. #1
    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Default Down sized downy female

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    My family calls them 'down sized downies' and 'big Hairy deals' to keep track of their relative size. This nice little gal is a downy, based on bill size and the small black spots on her outer tail feathers.

    D300 500mm f/4 f/5.6 1/125s ISO 1000 -1.3 EV with SB800 with beamer -1.3 EC Gitzo Wimb V2

    Post - NX2

    I was happy to get her out of the typical woodpecker pose for a change!

    All comments appreciated.

    Randy

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    Lifetime Member Marina Scarr's Avatar
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    Hi Randy: The point of focus appears to be the chest rather than the eye/head. I think I would sharpen the bird a bit more. An adjustment of the catchlight would also be helpful. Your BG here is gorgeous, the exposure looks good and the crop works well. It's nice to have a little lesson on the main differences between the Downy & the Hairy. Thanks for sharing.
    Marina Scarr
    Florida Master Naturalist
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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Marina:

    Thanks for the comments. The focus bracket was in fact right on the eye ball, but I wonder if a tiny bit of head movement snuck in because of my relatively low shutter speed. I will look into sharpening it a bit more. I try not to do too much sharpening at this ISO because of noise, but you have a good point.

    Thanks

    Randy

  4. #4
    Alfred Forns
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    Hi Randy

    Amazingly sharp for the slow shutter speed !!! I think you pushed the ISO to a reasonable level for a good compromise !! Point of focus seems to be on the eye area !!

    I like the room left to the virtual tail, gorgeous bg and pose !!! Love this image !!!

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    BPN Member Steve Maxson's Avatar
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    I don't see too many photos of woodpeckers on a small branch instead of a tree trunk - and this is a nice one, Randy. I agree a little more sharpening around the eye would help. Otherwise, I like the pose, comp, and background. Well done.

  6. #6
    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    OK, here is a version with a bit more sharpening around the eye and a little work on the catchlight.

    Thanks for all the input.

    Randy

  7. #7
    Maxis Gamez
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    Hi Randy,

    Second re-post works much better IMO and sharper.

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    Hi Randy

    Second re-post is works very nicely.

    Thanks for sharing
    Harshad

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    Repost looks better but does still look a bit soft. Great shot with good bg and comp

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    Randy,

    Like the second repost. It seems more dynamic to me.
    Thanks for sharing...
    ____________________
    Charlie Wesly
    St. Augustine Beach, FL

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    I like the unusual pose of the woody and the BG is outstanding. You did a very good job with the exposure and the result is fantastic for such a low shutter speed. The image looks a litle bit cold in my monitor. In my repost I added a touch of warming, a round of gaussian blur (about 1,2) to the BG to remove evidences of noise, added a round of sharpening to the bird and some levels adjustment of the blacks to extract more details. Very good image of a really cool woodpecker

  12. #12
    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Juan:

    Nice job on the repost. Some excellent ideas there!

    Cheers

    Randy

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