Woody Woodpecker

[David]

I wonder what people think of this. There are some greater spotted woodpeckers in Carrwood, just along from my house. I managed to figure where they might be feeding and when. I set up the Canon 5D Mk II with a Sigma 75-300 mm lens. Just as I was about to add a wireless remote one woody turns up, really to far from where I wished to position the camera. But needs must when the devil drives so I staterted to shoot manually, but with good focus. The results were OK, but the bird was too far away to create a half decent single image. Instead, I have compiled the following from 4 different shots.



Each image was worked up using Raw Therapee to preserve highlights and provide some modest sharpening. Canon's DPP provide unequal to the task on this occasion. Thereafter, the Gimp was used to compile the images and adjust overall exposure. Unfortunately, edge halos are apparent, and some proved impossible to remove with Raw Therapee. Noise is also a problem but given the original size of each shot this is understandable.

Comments and crits are, of course, welcome.

Cheers

David