Downy Woodpecker

Critiques [Translate]

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• greenpinkorange (1777)
• [2007-04-16 23:03]
• [+]

I was looking through your gallery.. and i really like the layout and style of your pictures. It has a very distinct setting for some of the bird shots, as you have said in your note. And this setting really creates something natural and colorful too. I really enjoy it.

This picture is another good one, but there seems to be something about it that i can't pinpoint. did you run it through a noise reduction program? anyway, colors are great!
steph

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• arfer (0)
• [2007-04-17 0:12]

Hello Greg

The focus and details are razor sharp.Another high quality image with beautiful colour saturation and composition.Wonderful.TFS

Rob

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• Mana (16346)
• [2007-04-17 0:59]

Hi Gregory,
Excellent shot. The shape of the wood on which it sits and its pose give such an artistic touch. Perfect lighting and blurry BG. The green leaves is adding soothing colour. Very nicely composed and framed. Kudos.
TFS.
Sumon

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• delic (936)
• [2007-04-17 1:58]

Hi Greg,
The woodpecker is finely captured perfect technique. But there is more to this photo. Artistic quality is tops with superb composition, that branch with interesting geometry and the blur in the back. This would a nice photo even without the pecker. Very well done.
Best wishes,
Hakan

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• AnimalExplorer (8322)
• [2007-04-17 2:25]

This is a very nice picture, it has a somewhat dreamy feel to it due to the soft background, something different about it. :)

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• Bufo (4241)
• [2007-04-17 2:27]
• [+]

Hi Greg,
let me just say that this is another marvallous image...where does it all end? Well composed and performed in your personal style.
I agree with Steph about the image. There's something about the image which makes it harder to look at the image. I first thought you ran a gaussian blur over the background, but hving read your note to Steph I see what you did. The effect is nice though, however i wonder if the settings are not too strong (is that proper English?).
But the image itself is again outstanding.
Regards, JAcob

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• clnaef (6502)
• [2007-04-17 3:27]

Bonjour,
Sympathique binôme. L'ensemble, grâce à un bon cadrage, est agréable à voir.
Bonne journée.
clnaef

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• GLEM (5739)
• [2007-04-17 7:31]

Hi Gregory,
très belle image avec style particulier, comme on le fait pour certaines images de mariage. Etonnant de voir le BG si présent, on a l'habitude d'un flou intégral. Excellente technique, comme d'habitude, le résultat est très bon.
merci également pour la note.

Gaetan

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• Aramok (4799)
• [2007-04-17 7:43]

Greg

What a really stunning shot. The style is great. the colours are stunning, the blacks, whites and greens work really well together.

TFS
Emma

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• anel (8393)
• [2007-04-17 7:49]

Hello Gregory,
This is a wonderful shot of the Woodpecker. Composition, light and attitude of the bird are excellent. The woodpecker looks quite young,like it just went out of his nest.Bravo
Best regards
Anne

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• jaycee (15001)
• [2007-04-17 10:39]

Hi Greg,

Your photos are so beautiful and sophisticated. This woodpecker is lovely. Beautiful colors, details and I love the pose. The setting and composition are fantastic.

Jane

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• geterdone (98)
• [2007-04-17 10:54]

Hi Gregory, you have a very good style of setting up, shooting and processing your images. I kinda like the soft effect on this...not in love with it but like it. Your focus is very top notch...would love to know some of your secrets:) Beautiful colors, great composition...VERY well setup, seen and taken. Excellant! TFS

Lyndon

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• jeanpaul (13845)
• [2007-04-17 12:06]

Salut Greg
Très belle photo que ce joli pic mineur apres écouter où se trouve son repas dans cet arbre, belle composition et les couleurs sont magnifiques.Tres jolie reussite.
Merci et au revoir ....JP

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• marmottelolo (14467)
• [2007-04-17 12:38]

bonjour gregory
un peu moins de details que d'habitude mais c'est peu etre le plumage de ce pic qui est plus lisse,de toutes façon cela reste une excellente photo.
laurent

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• Hil (4839)
• [2007-04-17 14:50]

Hi Greg

A wonderful shot of the Woodpecker, really nicely composed shot with a fine pose and a great POV, I like the soft focus you have created as its looks like a painting, lovely colours too.

TFS Hil :o)

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• snowfalken (1780)
• [2007-04-18 6:07]

Hello Greg,

What a great picture! There is something special about it but I can't figure out what exactly makes it so appealing! Maybe it is the light or the softness in the background or the PP you applied to it. I'm not sure but it looks outstanding!

Composition:

You always seem to find the best way to compose your subjects and always enhance your composition by including something from the natural environment of your subjects. You did the same with this picture and showed us what wonders can be done with a woodpecker, a branch and some leaves. The composition was perfectly chosen for this pose of the bird. You also distributed the empty space wisely to provide an area for the bird to look into. The soft background is perfect for this shot as it isolates the woodpecker very well! By including the green leaves in the middleground you added depth to your picture! This is a great thing since long telephoto lenses tend to flatten the image! The eye contact is also a big plus as it establishes a relationship with the subject. Shooting from the woodpecker's eye level was a great choice as it shows it as it is seen by someone of its kind, someone from its world! Outstanding job!

Colors:

The colors in your picture are bright and well saturated. They look natural and represent the place where this bird lives very well. I also love the textures in the branch and the soft tones in the background.

Contrast:

The strongest contrast in the foreground is an asset! It helps drawing the eyes towards the woodpecker! It also helps identifying all the details in the plumage and the branch.

Exposure:

In spite of the wide luminosity range you exposed both white and black perfectly. This is especially difficult when the sunlight is strong. Even the shadows look soft and preserved the details. As I said in the beginning, the light is excellent! I'm sure the fill flash also has it's contribution to the final result. IMO this explains why you captured such great details in the shadows.

Focus:

You focused precisely on the woodpecker! The sharp details are the result of this. You must have been close to the subject to get such a blurred background at f/9! Anyway, you controlled the DOF very well!

An outstanding work of art! The quality couldn't get better! I also found your notes useful. Thanks for sharing!

With Friendly Regards,
Eddie

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• garyfudge (1098)
• [2007-04-18 12:20]

Greg,

tremendous shot. How do you get it sooo sharp? Simply a fantastic capture, beautifully saturated colours and DOF is fabulous.

Gary

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• volkan (6286)
• [2007-04-18 14:28]

Hi Gregory,
Wonderful shot of this woodpecker.
Nice soft tones,colors and details.
TFS

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• TAZ (10918)
• [2007-04-21 2:13]

Hello Gregory,
What a festival of lovely birds in your gallery !!! This one is cute too on its nice part of wood.
The "+++" : smart composition, subject, pose, POV, sharpness, DOF, color, details, light and exposure, useful note...
The "-" : nothing...
Bravo and TFS.

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• jrubiocasado (5240)
• [2007-05-09 8:46]

Buenas Greg
Un bonito carpintero y muy bien presentado.
Mis felicitaciones.
Un saludo
Jorge