Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

[Stan]

Another from last week, the male and female together. In view of the previous"unatural" background comments, I thought I would edit this one and add a completely natural one

stan

[Dawesy]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

What a difference , that is a stunning shot Stan

[the black fox]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

Much better background ,and although a technically perfect shot Stan ,this now brings into question the whole ethics of getting ,shooting and processing of the image .
So first off thanks for being honest and explaining it's a set up scenario ,but it does go against the grain to folks like myself that spend hours getting shots of truly wild birds In a natural environment . The best anology I can think of is someone in my old hobby of metal detecting that buried real gold coins bought from auction ,then charged Americans £3000 a week to hunt for genuine buried treasure . .

Yes I do put seed out in favourite places in the hope that it will attract the birds ,but the specific hides set ups that you seem to frequently visit are in my mind simply to clinical and entirely false .

[derek68]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

nice shot Stan thanks for posting both i can see the difference

[tesarver]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

Well taken Stan

Tom

[Stan]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

thanks for looking guys

What a difference , that is a stunning shot Stan

changing a backgound like this is something I very rarely do - I much prefer to just spend the time in picking my angle to get the right background that does not conflict or take anything away from the subject, and if all I can see is a muddle of branches et then I wont even bother with the shot

but it does go against the grain to folks like myself that spend hours getting shots of truly wild birds In a natural environment . The best anology I can think of is someone in my old hobby of metal detecting that buried real gold coins bought from auction ,then charged Americans £3000 a week to hunt for genuine buried treasure . .

Yes I do put seed out in favourite places in the hope that it will attract the birds ,but the specific hides set ups that you seem to frequently visit are in my mind simply to clinical and entirely false .

how did I know that you would come up with some stupid comment like that - you really have not got a clue

as you well know 99% of my images are taken truly in the wild, all my kingfishers from the past few years have been taken from public hides with no set up and have been the result of hours spent from dawn waiting for them to appear. Like you I spread seed to encourage small birds and yes put it on specific perches to encourage the birds where I want them. Skylarks, stonechats, kestrels etc all taken out in the open, the list goes on. Away from birds, red squirrels again quite wild, just know where they are and use nuts to get them where I want them, just as any other competent wildlife photographer would do.

So where do you get the idea I "frequent specific hide set ups" - this particular one is the only one that meets that criteria

Quite honestly I am fuming at the way you have treated me and suggest you think about it and make a public apology

Stan

[Bill53]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

Lovely shot Stan.

Bill.

[the black fox]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

O.k Stan my reply was probably a bit over the top ,so accept my apology as I don't know the specific places you go to ..

[Tigger]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

have to say Stan thats excellent ..As to the process of getting the image, does it matter when its this good

[Stan]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

thanks Bill and Ian

so accept my apology

accepted and we will move on

Stan

[pelliott1954]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

Cracking and unusual shot, capturing both like that Stan, having been missing for a while I don't know the story of the previous backgrounds discussion, all I would say is, if you have changed or added something into the background, would anyone have known if you hadn't volunteered the information?

Regards Paul

[Stan]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

thanks Paul

Stan

[haydnj]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

cracker of the birds never mind the ethics of "enhancement" thank goodness no forum space for politics.

[Stan]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

Cheers Haydn

[Brian Sugden]

Re: Great Spotted Woodpecker Pair

The square format works very well and you were very fortunate to get both birds pin sharp.