Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/06/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Very nice shots Doug. Have never seen this bird before. gene ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Herr" <wildlightphoto at earthlink.net> To: lug at leica-users.org Sent: Friday, June 13, 2014 9:58:42 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: [Leica] IMG: White-headed Woodpecker A couple weeks ago I visited Yuba Pass, where California Highway 49 crosses the Sierra Nevada. At that time I located the nest of a White-headed Woodpecker; unfortunately it was late in the day when I found the bird and the lighting on the nest tree was unfavorable (dappled light/dark through other trees). I got a few photos but was not satisfied, so I returned last weekend early in the day. I set up a blind nearby and watched as the adult woodpeckers brought yummy grubs and bugs to the hatchlings. http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/picoides/whwood03.html Despite the better light on the nest tree I had a few remaining technical problems: I wanted a bit more DOF than I'd get at f/4, so I used f/8. The lens was on a tripod so the slower shutter speed was no big deal but f/8 made the background too distinct and contrasty. Taking a cue from Aram's part-polarized Yosemite photos, my solution was to make a second exposure at f/4 after the exposure of the bird then merge in Photoshop. It's the same background, but exposed at f/4 (shutter speed adjusted to match exposure) instead of f/8. I expanded on this idea with a 3-exposure woodpecker 'panorama': http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/picoides/whwood02.html All comments are welcome. Technical stuff: R8/DMR, 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R, beat-up Gitzo & blind. Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information