The sky was heavily overcast on Saturday as I focused on a Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) high in a broken-off tree at Huntley Meadows Park. The woodpecker was mostly in the shadows and I was having real troubles getting a clear shot of it. Then I got lucky.
The woodpecker flew off and then immediately returned to the same spot and I managed to press the shutter at just the right moment to capture the bird in flight.
I love the way the jagged edges of the tree mirror the shapes of the wings of the woodpecker, giving this image an almost abstract quality. The almost monochromatic color palette and simple composition enhance that abstract feel for me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
The confluence of shapes in this image plus the composition on the diagonal is superb.
Incidentally, I just read a post on the OBT blog that made me think of you. It’s a showcase of photos of birds hunting: http://myonebeautifulthing.com/2015/11/30/gone-fishin/
Thanks for your kind words, Laura. I checked out the link you posted and those photos are truly amazing. I dream of taking shots like that!
I believe one day you will. 😀
Practice, practice….
Thanks for the tip, Laura. Those were some pretty cool shots!
Really neat and unusual capture, Mike. That’s the way to make the most of “bad” light (which wasn’t really bad, in the end).
In some ways, the fact that I am still working three days a week means that I am likely to go out as often as I can on the other days, without regard to the weather and lighting conditions. If I could go out any day, I’m afraid that I choose to stay inside more and miss chances like this one.
Amazing how often good fortune seems to come to the prepared…Love the shot with wings extended.
Thanks, Charlie. My reaction time has improved, so I really do feel like I am better prepared when situations present themselves. Catching the woodpecker in flight like this was an unexpected joy for me.
This really showcases the beautiful flight feathers that few folks normally see, especially with the lucky backlighting!
I was amazed too, Gary, that I managed to get a shot like this one from underneath the woodpecker. I love that the image shows not only the flight feathers, but also the little legs and feet.
Great composition Mike with the tree shapes echoing the feathers!
Thanks, Chris. I wish I could take credit for the composition, but it’s one of those things that just happened. I had no idea that I would somehow manage to capture the woodpecker in flight.
Your photo reminds me of artwork by John Ruthven.
The wing feathers have an almost see through quality which I’m not sure is an illusion or is really there. It’s not something I’ve seen before.
I too am unsure if the look is caused by their white color or by backlighting or by the camera settings that I used, but the effect and the perspective are definitely unusual.
[…] Woodpecker and as soon as I saw it, I realized that it is an almost perfect companion to the photo that I posted yesterday. Yesterday’s image showed the flight feathers of a Red-headed […]