Northern Flicker

[Kerry Perkins]

Captured at the LA County Arboretum. A large crop from the 1D4 but the RAW files hold up pretty well. I was using the Better Beamer from quite a distance (image raw data says 77.6 feet), so the flash exposure compensation was set to 0. I removed the second catch light in PS.

1D4, EF400mm f/5.6L
Manual mode, f/5.6@1/2000 ISO 800 WB 5300K
AI Servo autofocus, HH, 580EX II w/BB FEC 0 E-TTL mode Evaluative

[Doug West]

The image of course is excellent, but I would think a high five for
just spotting this. With the Flicker almost blending in with the
background, I would imagine he might've been hard to see at first.

Doug

[Andrew Merwin]

Hey Kerry,
I am on the fence re. this image. I like the IQ, the HA, the effective use of flash, & the way the flicker is camouflaged. At the same time, I keep looking at the tree & the intricate patterns on the bark. For me, the BG is distracting.

[gary ellwein]

The IQ held up nicely with the large crop. The coarse pattern of the tree and smooth feather pattern of the flicker works IMHO. My flash and BB are greatly underutilized. Kerry, do you routinely have them attached and ready to go when in the field? What were the lighting conditions in this instance that dictated use of the flash?

Gary

[Ian Cassell]

Hey, Kerry. The techs on both the bird and the tree are excellent, but I am finding the tree distracting. I'm thinking that a bit off the top (about half the distance between the tip of the beak and the current top of the image) would put the viewer's focus back on the flicker.

[Kerry Perkins]

Thanks for comments all. Gary, I often have the flash and beamer attached (depending on how much weight I feel like carrying around on a given day) and don't feel that the use of flash is "dictated" by any particular lighting situation, but rather enhances many of those situations. This particular shot was taken on a sunny day but the trunk of the tree was in shade. I will always have the flash rig on the camera if I know I am going to be finding opportunities for shots in the shade, as it greatly increases the opportunities for catching birds in their natural habitat, i.e., in trees. I wrote a book about the use of flash but don't have any way to sell it right now. Stay tuned. I also often use flash as fill on sunny days when the sun is not at the perfect angle. The trick with using fill flash is to make it look like it wasn't used.

My take on this shot is that is shows how well the coloration of this bird suits it for life in the forest, against trees like this. YMMV.

[gary ellwein]

Kerry, thank you for responding to my questions. I will increase my use of flash in the future.

Gary