Steve Cole
August 2026 - Family Care
About the Image(s)
While monitoring one of my bird feeder’s activity these two flew to a tree nearby and the female Hairy Woodpecker proceeded to feed a sunflower seed to a recently fledged juvenile. It is real interesting how the adult birds will introduce their young ones to my bird feeders. No matter be it a woodpecker (Hairy, Downy, Red-Bellied), Blue Jays, Gray Catbird, Ruby-Breasted Grosbeak, Northern Cardinal, etc.. On this occasion I was able to capture the event away from the birdfeeder platform. Fujifilm XT5, 100-400 at 400mm (600 FF), f5.6, 1/500, ISO 1250, July 2026. Processed using Lightroom Classic basic sliders and denoise.
6 comments posted
Very nice story being told here, and I like the way the two birds are facing each other at right angles. Everything appears to be sharp. The only problem in this case is that, owing to the dark exposure and the fact that the pair does not stand out enough from the background, there is a lack of detail evident. Try brightening up the birds? Posted: 08/14/2026 02:52:34
Thanks for your suggestion but in fact I did brighten them up a bit but did not do more thinking it would not look natural. Posted: 08/24/2026 20:48:01
A very sweet moment captured. Your square crop works perfectly with the pose of the birds. The soft light tones down the setting and lets us focus on the birds.
Looking at the full size image, this doesn't seem to be really sharp. The shallow Depth of Field may be the reason- with 2 birds sometimes you need a bit more to have them both sharp. Posted: 08/16/2026 18:01:59
Looking at the full size image, this doesn't seem to be really sharp. The shallow Depth of Field may be the reason- with 2 birds sometimes you need a bit more to have them both sharp. Posted: 08/16/2026 18:01:59
Steve - a lovely moment, with such interesting positions and lines within the image. The mother bird does seem to be sharper (have more detail). You mentioned basic sliders - I wonder whether some texture just for the birds would solve the issue. The bark does not need any - indeed, the brightest part here could be a tad less bright in my view.
Lovely image. Posted: 08/18/2026 14:00:05
Lovely image. Posted: 08/18/2026 14:00:05
Hi Steve,
This image tells a lovely nature story, with one of the parents feeding the young bird in a very nice pose on this tree trunk, which has a beautiful texture.
Unfortunately, the birds don't look quite as sharp to me as I would have liked. I feel that the main point of sharpness is on the tree trunk rather than on the birds. Also, the background has quite a lot of detail, which competes with the birds for the viewer's attention.
Nevertheless, it's a beautiful capture and a lovely moment to have photographed. Posted: 08/24/2026 20:30:46
This image tells a lovely nature story, with one of the parents feeding the young bird in a very nice pose on this tree trunk, which has a beautiful texture.
Unfortunately, the birds don't look quite as sharp to me as I would have liked. I feel that the main point of sharpness is on the tree trunk rather than on the birds. Also, the background has quite a lot of detail, which competes with the birds for the viewer's attention.
Nevertheless, it's a beautiful capture and a lovely moment to have photographed. Posted: 08/24/2026 20:30:46
Maria, it was one of those moments I was thinking not about sharpness but capturing the fleeting moment. While I witness this behavior at my feeders and I was a bit excited about it happening away from the feeders. Overall I thought it to be "sharp enough". Posted: 08/24/2026 21:00:34