Acorn Woodpecker

[Steve Zamek]

I went out earlier this week in search of the classic shot of an Acorn Woodpecker: one with an acorn in its bill. I was successful in that endeavor, but my favorite shot of the day turned out to be this rather quirky one, with the bird in a very unusual pose.

Canon 7D, 500mm with 1.4 TC
Manual exposure: 1/1000, f/8, ISO 400

[Duane Noblick]

I like the unusual position of the Woodpecker, exposure looks good on the blacks and whites and lovely, smooth BG.

[Marina Scarr]

What a unique perch and pose. Your BG is great. The head and/or eye may need a tad more sharpening. Looks as though there may have been a little movement in the head when you took this photograph. Lovely capture and TFS>

[DeanNewman]

Really unusual pose and nicely done exposure. Ditto BG. One thing I think would have made the image even stronger is better HA. Agree with extra sharpening on the eye. Great image.

[Rick Dobson]

I can see see why this unique pose would be your fav. Lovely image with a great bg.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the unusual pose too, and the red cap adds a nice splash of colour. I like how the tail is serving as balance on the perch. Although the HA could have been better, it still works as the bird is busy staring at something of interest here. Was the plumage this smooth, or has NR been run on the subject?

[Arthur Morris]

Yup, the head is sort of tucked away behind the body. You did well with a tough bird in the sun... And yes, a neat pose. Best bet: a cloudy bright day with your flash at -2 stop and a Better Beamer....

[Steve Zamek]

Was the plumage this smooth, or has NR been run on the subject?

Yes, I must confess to being lazy with respect to the noise reduction. I ran a bit over the entire image. When comparing the pre- and post-NR versions, however, I see that there wasn't much more detail to be found in the black feathers in the pre-NR version. Good eye!

[Chris van Rooyen]

Lovely posture, I would prefer the image to be slightly more saturated.