Carrot Top

[Marhowie]

Red-bellied Woodpecker from this week.
80% of FF, clear & sunny. F/10, 1/4000th, ISO 1250, 1D M3, 300mm f/2.8 + 1.4 ext. No flash in burst mode.

[lhdvies]

Nice Howard!!! Don't see many of those in flight this good!!
Leon

[johnr78735]

Great shot Howard...if there's one thing I've learned when using big glass it's that speed kills !

If anyone is having trouble using a lens over 200 mm... get in good light, set the camera for 1 stop over min f stop and set focal length not quite to max and shoot away at highest shutter speed you can, then look at your photos...I'll bet you see great improvement.

John in Austin

[preames]

Terrific shot Howard! Those guys are so fast that I've never been able to keep them in my viewfinder long enought to get the shot.

[David Alaniz]

You managed to capture a great BIF of a very fast subject. Good job!

[Marhowie]

Originally Posted by johnr78735

Great shot Howard...if there's one thing I've learned when using big glass it's that speed kills !

If anyone is having trouble using a lens over 200 mm... get in good light, set the camera for 1 stop over min f stop and set focal length not quite to max and shoot away at highest shutter speed you can, then look at your photos...I'll bet you see great improvement.

John in Austin

Hi John,

I understand what you're saying. But my method for this bird (one of the smallest woodpeckers out there, with quick movements) does not give me that luxury.
My AF can't track this bird inflight and I have to be close. This is a minimum crop. I used a raised platform with seed, and locked focus on the bird before it took off. Then I swung with it in burst mode as it moved. I need the wiggle room of F/10 for it to work for me this way. As I said, with larger birds it's a whole different ball game :)
I used a 300mm f/2.8 fixed focal length lens and 1.4x ext

[justDave]

Excellent capture, those birds are fast!

[ifly223]

Nice shot; could have done without that clear and sunny part. Its in the teens here. : (

[houtex01]

Very nice BIF capture of this woodpecker...nice focus and feather detail...great job Howard...

Ron

[JohnT]

Excellent BIF shot. Definitely have to be prepared.

[Laohutu]

Oh my goodness, this is not easy!