Downy Woodpecker

[Joel Eade]

Haven't posted in awhile....this is from my backyard setup
1DMKIII
300mm 2.8L + 1.4 TCII
Tripod
Manual mode
Evaluative metering
580 EXII + Better Beamer ETTL -2 1/3
iso 1250
1/400
f/4.5

processed with ACR and CS5, did a little bill clean up otherwise just normal adjustments.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Joel, nice downy - he must be going after those hidden seeds!

I know that this angle is the way it really was, but I find that I keep rotating my head to straighten him up. I think it's just because there is no other frame of reference and I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just making a note... You have a slight bit of clipping in both the blacks and the whites according to the histogram, which could be easily fixed in ACR. I'm seeing a slight reddish-blue cast to the mids and blacks, which could also be corrected in the conversion. I find it very difficult to get a good head angle on a wp, but a slight head turn would make the image stronger!

[John Chardine]

Nice one Joel. Beautiful, non-distracting background and the tree is not obtrusive. Sharpness is good. I think I would like to see the bird a little bigger in the frame. I agree with Kerry on the cast. In LAB the blacks have a bluish tone (- in B), which may be perfectly natural, and an element of magenta (+ in A). Nothing that can't be fixed easily.

[Joel Eade]

Thanks for the suggestions .... is this close to what you mean?

[Kerry Perkins]

Joel, I like this much better! Color is very neutral and true and I like this crop better too. Good repost!

[Tom Redd]

Good shot to start, the repost takes it up a notch. I like the tighter crop and the coloring better. TFS