The bird looks good. Good detail and exposure. I find the perch is a little overwhelming. fill flash in the hole might help Little room at the tail would help.
Hi Ian - clipped tail - poor fellow ;)
Pose and HA look good - exposure looks good - the perch is a little overwhelming - but then it is what it is - other than wait for him to move to a better perch, not much you could do about that.
A little S/H might help.
Keep em coming :)
Ian, sure the saguaro is a little busy--but I suppose I'm like you--it's the natural perch. I wonder what techniques people might offer to "dull" it down, or would people reject the image because of the perch? (I'm asking because I don't know, I would keep it--that is a gorgeous and very detailed bird).
Were you traveling? What is the story behind your taking this image? Just curious if you were seeking it, just hiking and hoping for some nice images, etc.
Thanks for commenting, Sandra. I too would be interested in how people would have approached this. I really wanted the combination of Gila and Saguaro, but don't know how I could have done that without overwhelming the bird.
No, not traveling. In Gilbert (just East of Phoenix) is the Riperian Preserve where I go to shoot water birds. It is a stand of 7 wastewater reclamation ponds which has been turned into a bird sanctuary. Just as you enter the preserve is a stand of Saguaro. This guy was poking around there as I was leaving from a morning of water-bird shooting.
Hi Ian, Good light and other than the clipped tail good positioning of the subject. Yes, the Saguaro does take some of the emphasis off the bird but in this case it's telling
a habitat story that is educational without alot of technical flaws.
A very nice shot, Ian. I have no particular objection to the perch, for the reasons that Dave stated above. I suppose for those who find that it draws attention away from the main subject, you could crop some away from the LHS of the image, while adding to the RHS. Also, the fill light (suggested above) might have made the hole less detracting. However, for my taste I am happy with it just as it is. The bird has nice detail and good color; it is also nicely exposed.
I have taken two trips to the Water Riparian, in the past three years, and have not been so lucky to see a Gila there (though I did find some at the Botanical Garden). You are very fortunate to have such a wonderful bird sanctuary in a semi-urban area.
Gila Woodpecker on Saguaro
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