Hairy Woodpecker

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

HairyWoodpecker1.jpg
HairyWoodpecker1.jpg2000×1600 703 KB

HairyWoodpecker.jpg
HairyWoodpecker.jpg2000×1424 889 KB

Find the water drop!

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

When we moved to our current residence 20 years ago, the emerald ash borer was wiping out the ash trees in the area. Woodpecker populations exploded and it was common to see 4 or 5 hairy’s and a dozen downy’s at the feeders. Now that emerald ash borers are rather uncommon, woodpecker populations have decreased down to normal levels. I have never photographed hairy woodpeckers until a few days ago. This is a female and am glad that I practiced photographing black dogs on white snow to get the exposure near perfection on this bird. I removed some stray, orphaned branches for each photo as needed.

Specific Feedback

How do you like the comps and what do you think about how I handled the blacks and whites in these images?

Technical Details

Z9 600mm f4 (1/4000 sec at f8.0, ISO 2500, fill at -2ev). Levels, Topaz DeNoise AI, Crop for Comp, Bandaid for branch removal, microcontrast enhancement.

Critique Template

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  • Vision and Purpose:
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  • Composition:
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1 Like
2

Compositions and poses are excellent in both images, Jim. I like the blacks and whites in the first image. In the second, the whites look good, but I’m not seeing any detail in the blacks at all. Admittedly the bird is moderately small in the frame and the feather texture is very fine, but I think I’d try bringing the blacks up just a little bit. It’s a tough one as I don’t care for gray looking blacks

3

Nice look at the woodpecker. I especially like the second one for the pose and perch and the nice background.

4

Jim, both of these are really nice. I like both crops, and the blacks and whites look fine. The blacks honestly don’t look gray from here. I’m using a well-calibrated BenQ SW32 monitor

If you’re able to pull more detail out of the blacks, that’s an added bonus.
Lovely “firsts” for you, and a treat for us!

5

Both look fine to me – very cute little bird and great poses, and I love the soft BGs! I’m going to wear out my shadows slider in LR, bringing up detail in darks, but the angle of the second makes the blacks a small part and they don’t feel like they need more detail. If they ever do in an image, it’s so easy to balance with a slight move left of the Blacks slider. I have a good monitor but always look at the histogram for the last word. Perception is so relative.

6

These both look great Jim. I love the detail, the composition and the poses you’ve captured with this little guy. They are such characters. Nice work.

7

HI Jim, wow great to see a Hairy Woodpecker! I’ve seen this species maybe twice but it’s been quite a while. Composition, pose, and exposure all look good to me.

8

Thank you @Dennis_Plank , @Allen_Brooks , @SandyR-B , @Diane_Miller , @Ed_Williams , and @Allen_Sparks for your comments and critiques. @Dennis_Plank I spent less time editing the second image so I may have to provide some additional work on those blacks. …Jim

9

Hi Jim
I think you did a great job on the Black and whites on this Hairy Woodpecker. I think the second photograph is more interesting. Nice work.
Peter