My in-laws were visiting when I spotted a pair of pileated woodpeckers out of the living room window. I couldn’t believe it! I had never seen a pair together and wanted to see if I could get two birds in one shot. I worked my way quietly through the underbrush to try to get a clear picture of both of these massive birds. It’s too bad I wasn’t shooting in raw, as the detail on their back is lost. I also wasn’t shooting at a fast enough shutter speed. Still learning.
I took all of these photos awhile back, before I started shooting only in RAW. Pileated Woodpeckers are very large birds and when they drum to mark there territory, the sound is loud, strong, and distinctive.
I like this picture even though it’s clearly not ideal. Part of that is due to the focus—I should have been shooting faster. It’s also because I wasn’t in RAW so I couldn’t account for the full dynamic range of the image.