Pileated

[Winona]

I was pulling into my aunts driveway and spotted a Pileated! I’ve been wanting to photograph one! I backed up so I wouldn’t scare it and parked at the top of the driveway. Unfortunately my aunt wondered what I was doing and came walking towards me shouting it was ok to park in the driveway! It flew away. Darn. Well, we were doing an outdoor hot cocoa and cookie gathering and kept the camera in my lap. Yeah! It came back. Also saw a fox but it was too far away and too brief for photos. I live on 34 acres and she lives on 1 acre. Guess who gets the most interesting wildlife! She also has flying squirrels!

I want to work on this more. The second one is the original. Do I leave it like that, crop like the first or leave more of the foliage and less of the tree?

 

[dxqcanada]

I was thinking 1/3 green, 1/3 bird, 1/3 tree ... though it does place the bird right in the centre.

 

[Space Face]

For me the first is the best composition. It's well balanced, simple and effective.

 

[Photo Lady]

very nice..rarely see this woody..

 

[K9Kirk]

Nice shot on #1. I agree with SF. Another thing to consider when cropping is will the pic lose too much detail.

 

[PJM]

Such a nice find, I like the close up. I'm also with SF on this one.

 

[Winona]

Thank you.