ma and pa woodpecker go out to dinner

livinginoz

both male and female came out tonight........taken with the 100-400 again, but i was a lot closer. they aren't too spooked by my being there. they are right in my front yard...















again, they are all close to full frame

Ric Grupe

Poor background really hurt these shots. Can you hang the feeder in a better location to plan for early or late light? I like woodpeckers and these Downy's deserve another try.

Hope this helps.

Rohirrim

Nice compositions with the bird off center, birds are also pretty sharp with a catch light in the eye. As was mentioned the bright background is distracting, if you are able to get them so they aren't backlit and on a natural perch these would be wonderful.

livinginoz

thanks for the tip.....next time i will try a different angle.

Cinda

Fun birds to watch! The pair that come to my feeder brought a young'un this spring. I agree w/the background comments, just move the feeder in small increments so they'll be sure to find it.

livinginoz

Rohirrim wrote:

Nice compositions with the bird off center, birds are also pretty sharp with a catch light in the eye. As was mentioned the bright background is distracting, if you are able to get them so they aren't backlit and on a natural perch these would be wonderful.

funny thing is, they aren't backlit. i took them about 8pm, with the sun behind me. the only thing i can figure is there is a field way across the road and the sun might have been shining on the hay and creating the light........

Rohirrim

livinginoz wrote:

funny thing is, they aren't backlit. i took them about 8pm, with the sun behind me. the only thing i can figure is there is a field way across the road and the sun might have been shining on the hay and creating the light........

That makes sense Laurie. The birds are well lit, but the exposure was just too long for the background. A possible option for you would be to manually expose for the background, and then use a flash to expose the birds. Easier said than done!

livinginoz

Rohirrim wrote:

That makes sense Laurie. The birds are well lit, but the exposure was just too long for the background. A possible option for you would be to manually expose for the background, and then use a flash to expose the birds. Easier said than done!

or move so i can't see the field. at least i can figure that one out

Dick on Aruba

Great compositions and nice exposures, well done!

I agree about the background.

Thanks for sharing.

Dick.