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Red Bellied Woodpecker
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Red Bellied Woodpecker

by Doug Gilham

Gallery: AvianPosted December 5, 2010125 views7 comments
This woodpecker visits our yard quite often, but is usually too high in the trees to get a good shot of. Friday I was finally able to get a decent shot of it. :biggrin:

Nikon D300 w/Sigma 50-500 @ 420mm
f/8
1/500
iso 320
EC +0.3
tripod mounted
Full Frame

All comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Larger verison provided for critique. :wink:

Comments

7 comments
Comment posted by Wayne Willison on December 5, 2010 at 5:43 PM
Wow, detail galore. Spot on colors and exposure, great eye contact as well. If you could add a bit of canvas on top I think it would really enhance this fine image.
Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Macdermott on December 5, 2010 at 5:54 PM
Hi Doug,

really good detailed shot I like the perch and the background is good :toast:

Its a bit tight in the frame for me I would like to see a bit more room at the top, and would also remove the orphaned branch at the bottom.
Registered on January 31, 2008, 15 Posts, 135 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Ditch on December 5, 2010 at 7:22 PM
Nice Red-bellied Woodpecker. A bit tight - I would have backed off the zoom a bit more for a little more space around the bird.

The image quality is lower than I expect for full frame at ISO 320, with a lot of noise visible in the belly of the woodpecker. It also seems to have a bit too much sharpening applied, and that might be the source of the extra noise. another possible source for the noise could be from adding exposure if that was needed.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments
Comment posted by Steve Balke on December 5, 2010 at 9:48 PM
Beautiful, Doug. I like how well we can see the back and side of the bird. I see the noise that Richard mentions in his comment and agree with his observations. However, that said, somehow the noise doesn't bother me in this image. :toast:
Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments
Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 6, 2010 at 4:36 PM
Nice job getting the woodpecker close and at a low angle Doug. Frustrating to get them full frame like this and have them be a little too tight.
Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments
Comment posted by Dan Moore on December 7, 2010 at 8:14 AM
Some just do not work FF.This one, I think is alright. A little tight but works within the frame.Good capture Doug!

Dan
Registered on February 11, 2010, 143 Posts, 1248 Comments
Comment posted by Mia McPherson on December 7, 2010 at 11:31 AM
Doug

Great pose, head angle and light in the eye. I'm detecting noise in the bird, especially in the chest and I am not sure why it is there with an ISO of 320. Did you need to bring the exposure up in post? The image appears slightly oversharpned and that might have made some of the noise more noticeable, I'd back off on the sharpening some. It is a little tight for my tastes.
Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments