Had the good fortune to happen upon this Pileated Woodpecker nest quite by accident with what I thought at first were two chicks. After some observation, it turned out there were actually three. Three was definitely a crowd because it appeared only two could be fed at a time. However, I was lucky to capture this moment of the three at the nest cavity where they remained cramped together for only a few brief moments.
This was a difficult nest to photograph and an even more difficult photograph to crop. The original capture has white sky on both sides of the tree trunk. I finally decided on putting the chicks in the upper right-hand side because putting them in the other side left too much white in the frame which I found distracting. I would be most interested in your thoughts on the crop.
Canon 1D3, Canon 500L & 2.0 @ 1000m
F10, 1/640sec, ISO 640, manual mode
Canon 580 EXII w/Better Beamer set to -1 2/3
Feisol tripod, Mongoose head
Hi Marina,
Sweet shot! Good idea to go f10 as this combo is sharper when aperture is not fully open.
I like your crop. I can also see it as a slightly tighter crop but it won't necessarily be better - just different. Maybe slightly more sharpening on the birds.
Wonderful catch, Marina. Love the three birds looking in different directions. Crop works for me, but I could also see it with a little of the tree removed from the bottom.
What a great find, Marina! Love how they're all looking different directions. I too would be interested to see more of a crop, wondering if some off the bottom might reduce the feel of a steep angle (though at the same time, a steep angle is representative of where they nest). I think you did well on the comp in regards to placing the opening to the upper right, reducing that white sky. Overall a wonderful image.
Unique shot, Marina. I like the three heads at the hole and find it interesting to compare the markings on the two males vs. the female. I think that the more you crop, the less sense of place you have about the nest. Personally, I would leave the heads in the top third of the frame as you have it.
Man, lucky you to get this photo op and i know you worked hard to earn this shot. This is great and i like the crop as well. Agree that even tighter (for me less off the bottom) would make it even sweeter. Nice job.
I think this looks great as is. Not easy to get eye contact from all three...Interesting to see a pileated nest in a conifer....much more used to seeingthem in aspen trees. The hole looks a little smaller than normal too....
Three is a Crowd
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