Pileated Woodpecker

Gallery: AvianPosted May 21, 2017564 views11 comments

Dryocopus pileatus

I was extremely excited when I captured this Female Pileated Woodpecker. Pileated Woodpeckers have been my nemesis for a long, long time. I have never been able to get a good clean shot of one. While photographing Warblers this one flew in and landed right in front of me. This is cropped from the top to 4X5 format.
1DX, 800mm f5.6L IS + 1.4 TC
1/640, f8, Aperture Priority, Exposure Compensation -.33
ISO 400
May 7, 2017
Please view larger image for detail.

All comments and critique are very appreciated.
Thank You.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on May 21, 2017 at 1:44 PM

Matt:

Congrats on getting a shot of this very nice bird. Always great to get a "nemesis" bird. I have a few of those too!!

I like the image. Nice and sharp nice perch for the bird itself. I'm distracted by the branch on the left and wondered what was possible with a crop and then adding just a bit of canvas on the right. I tried it and came up with this. See what you think.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Peter J. Morrissey on May 21, 2017 at 3:28 PM

Hi Matt
You have a really nice shot,I agree the branch is distracting, but maybe more is better the less (2 by 3 crop not 4 by 5).
Peter

Registered on July 3, 2011, 188 Posts, 969 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on May 21, 2017 at 5:19 PM

Great job in getting this image! I also have tried to get a good photo of this woodpecker in the wild. Has not happened yet! I like both versions. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on May 21, 2017 at 6:06 PM

Beautiful, Matt. It may have taken awhile, but when you got the shot, you got a beauty. I really love that forked perch and she gave you an excellent pose. Superb detail throughout the image.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on May 21, 2017 at 8:14 PM

Matt, wonderful image. Focus and detail are great. I didn't do nearly as well when I had my chance, but hopefully I'll get another chance someday.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on May 21, 2017 at 9:54 PM

Thanks for all of the comments.

Keith, I played around with the same crop you worked up. Your version looks great, however, I am entering this image in a couple of local photo club contests and manipulation of the image is a no no. I tried just cropping tighter to the left, but did not like the small wedge in the corner either.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on May 22, 2017 at 4:33 AM

Nice one Matt I quite liked the one where the bird is sort of framed by the branches, but then the second looks OK too.
Made me think of the Walt Disney woodies !!
Great stuff.
JohnR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on May 22, 2017 at 12:28 PM

I like both images. They are different but they each have their merits so I think it is okay to enter the unmanipulated image in the contest. The subject stands out well enough on its own.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by David Bogener on May 22, 2017 at 2:31 PM

Super image Matt. This species has been difficult for me as well. Nice light and exposure. I would not change a thing.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments

Comment posted by Elizabeth Holbrook on May 25, 2017 at 9:23 AM

WOW! I would love to get the chance to capture a Pileated Woodpecker. They are so evasive. I like the shot with both branches. I wonder what it would look like if you flipped the image, letting the viewer attention being drawn to the face. Just a thought. Great job.

Registered on May 6, 2015, 43 Posts, 221 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on May 26, 2017 at 8:20 AM

Matt,
A truly beautiful image devil

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments