Dean Ginther  

Pileated Woodpeckers by Dean Ginther

September 2023 - Pileated Woodpeckers

September 2023 - Dean Ginther

Original

About the Image(s)

I sat for about an hour in the late afternoon today on our east deck watching the birds. At first I didn't have my camera and naturally that is when I saw three Pileated Woodpeckers in the trees making an approach to the feeder. By the time I went inside and returned with my camera, they were gone. So I sat around mostly watching the Black Cap Chickadees come and go. When I was about to give up a Piliated flew onto the suet feeder. I would have preferred to have caught it in the trees rather than on the feeder but I didn't get that chance.
I took this image with my Sony A7R4 with a 28 - 200 zoom - f5.6, 1/500, ISO 80, hand held. I found editing this image difficult because of the bright background. I tried to tone that down the bright portion of the background using the LR masking tools but I am not sure it worked very well. I have included the original for comparison.

7 comments posted

Cindy Smith   Cindy Smith
Nice shot. I cannot imagine seeing 3 pileated together! I have no trouble with the background and I really like the blurry blue in upper left and I like the way the crisp wings stand out against the dark background. A tree shot would be ideal, but I think she looks great at the suet.   Posted: 09/06/2023 10:08:55
Dean Ginther   Dean Ginther
Thanks Cindy.   Posted: 09/07/2023 19:30:21
Mervyn Hurwitz   Mervyn Hurwitz
The woodpecker is nice and sharp and I don't mind the inclusion of the feeder. Unfortunately the lighting was very difficult and in my opinion prevents this image becoming a winner. The bottom of the body has caught the light, leaving the head in shadow. I see that you have opened the shadows as much as possible, but the contrast doesn't work for me. Also there are bright leaves in the background left which can be toned down or cloned out.   Posted: 09/07/2023 14:08:10
Dean Ginther   Dean Ginther
Yes, with the inclusion of the feeder and the great change in luminosity, this was an exercise in trying to improve a mediocre bird image.   Posted: 09/07/2023 19:31:45
Pierre Williot   Pierre Williot
An acrobatic Pileated Woodpecker (female). For me, the presence of the bird feeder and suet, tells a story. I agree with the light issue. I took the liberty of adding a ND filter obliquely on your image aiming at increasing the brightness in the upper left corner. Not perfect, but just an idea...   Posted: 09/08/2023 14:53:56
Comment Image
Dean Ginther   Dean Ginther
Thanks Pierre; I think that helps.   Posted: 09/08/2023 15:00:53
Jacob Wat   Jacob Wat
The crop is really well done. It helps draw focus to the subject. The detail is also very nice. I agree with the others that the leaves on the left are a bit distracting and you may want to remove them some how.   Posted: 09/14/2023 21:57:28

 

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