Great Spotted Woodpecker at -30 F

[mrsisu]

Taken in Oulu Finland in Feb 06 on a very cold and snowy day. Taken with a Nikon D2x and 300 2.8 with a 1.4 tele extender. There are 8 varieties of woodpeckers in Finland and don't think that many of or any of them are found here. Went out with Finlands premier bird photographer Jari Peltomaki (from Finnature) and as part of what we did he took me to his set up of feeders, perches in the woods near his home. Only there a short while, but got a few nice shots of this and a few other birds. Had a wonderful time with this very knowledgeable bird photographer and hope I can go back sometime and shoot with him again.

[rpk717]

Don, nice looking female GSW. You're a brave man to go out in -30°F temperature but I know you had prepared for the conditions. Great job keeping the camera steady during the shot. Did you experience any issues with your equipment at that temperature?

Thanks for posting this beautiful bird.

[ronsc]

An excellent shot of a beautiful bird. Very sharp focus, good composition, and a nice, well-blurred background. Superb.

[mrsisu]

I was dressed like Nanuk of the north and was warm as toast. Had no problems with the equipment at all. Had worried that batteries (Lithium) might fail but not. Camera worked flawlessly but rarely out in the weather for more then 45 minutes at a time. The LCD didn't even begin to slow up. Biggest danger in cold climates is taking your very cold gear into a warm ex. home when you will get major condensation which could potentially really hurt your equipment. Of course you can have problems with the same when going from the inside to out. I always leave my gear in the case when I go out or come in and frequently put a air tight plastic bag around the case with the gear so that the camera, lens etc. can slowly acclimate to the ambient temperature of the environment which avoids the condensation problems etc. As to batteries I had a few spares that I kept in my shirt pockets it warm and ready to go but didn't need them. I really do hope to get back there and shoot with Mr. Peltomaki again as he is a great guide. Check out his web site - his company is Finnature

[jckegley]

Excellent detail in the white feathers. Also love the nice bokeh. Really good shot.

Toooo cold for me. I might (and I mean might) go out in that kind of cold for a mammal shot (marine or land). More than likely I would be inside with some Finnish Vodka, maybe photographing you through a window of you getting shots of the bird. Yep, that's what I would be doing, I'll be inside rooting for you.

Did I mention I am a wimp in cold weather?

[Photobiologist]

Cool shot! (Okay, COLD shot!). Looks good - and doesn't look like an easy shot to get either physically or photographically!

Sounds like a great trip. Hope you get to go back & get more bird pix!

[mobiek]

Wow, that is chilly. But your capture was fantastic. Excellent shot.

[mark]

Now, this is VERY nice! I have a soft spot for anything that hits the wood! You did a great job it is just perfect.