The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
One of the photos from when a pair of Northern Flickers were making a nest in a broken tree that came down in a storm. By shooting from the open bedroom window I was able to get more or less on the same level as the bird. I really liked the mist in the bg. I’m right on the Wisconsin river and so when air and water temps are just right, mist forms and makes for this amazing effect in the morning.
Oh and ultimately the nest failed. I don’t know why. One day they were busy going in and out and then we didn’t see them at all. Could be one of them was killed or that something like a weasel, raccoon or raven got to the nest. Very sad, but I hope they try again. If not some other bird will claim it I’m sure.
Specific Feedback
I tried about 100 crops for this and ended up here. Thoughts? Also is the amount of color I left on the bird doing me any favors?
Technical Details
Tripod out the open window.
Lr for basics to improve luminosity values between the light and dark areas. Mostly global adjustments, but also a mask on the bird. Photoshop to remove a lot of branches behind and on the sides. Lr for the final crop.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Very cool! And mysterious-looking. I love the hints of color and detail – just enough to hint at what the bird might be.
Sad about the nest – it sounds like a great opportunity for both the birds and for you. We have a male Flicker that has roosted on our deck every winter for the last 3-4 years. I put up a bird house for him and he uses it now. The first year he did a lot of drumming and finally brought a girlfriend to check it out in spring. Then a while later I saw him on the deck railing with TWO females and they seemed to be having an argument. He disappeared, and that’s the last female I’ve seen but he’s been back every winter. But no more drumming. I guess he’s established his territory and spends nesting season at her apartment. They may be choosy about their nests. And I’ve never been able to get a picture of him.
Thanks @Diane_Miller - yeah it was pretty disappointing to see it abandoned and I hope it wasn’t a huge tragedy for the birds, but it probably was. Nature is indeed red in tooth and claw. Such an interesting story with yours…I didn’t know they would use a bird box outside of breeding season. Maybe he can entice one of his many lady friends back to it.
It seemed so strange about the box – I noticed a bird was roosting on an angled support piece for the deck roof – right against the house and 5 ft from my studio door. I waited until well after he was asleep and had a brief look at him with a flashlight. We got a “flicker box” and put it up and he started using it. (Winter nights can get below 20 degrees here when it’s clear.) In the spring when he moves out, Western Bluebirds have moved in the last 2 years, and raised a brood. The first 2 years the box was up, they were eyeing it but the woodpeckers kept harassing them, but it appears they have worked something out these last 2 years.
