My wife and I were driving around in an area we had not yet explored. I love doing this to find possible locations to come back to and photograph. As usual, I was on the hunt for landscape locations. It was an overcast day with dreary skies. We were driving slowly up a windy mountain road when this woodpecker sat on the log.

The woodpecker and log were right next to the road, so distance was not an issue. I had both my 70-200mm and my 200-600mm lenses with me. The bird seemed quite happy and not bothered with our presence. I believe it would have allowed me to get even closer if I needed to. Yet I opted to not fall into the trap of taking a portrait or cropping very tightly. I wanted to show a bit more. The log was littered with holes. The woodpecker had clearly worked the log. I wanted to show some of the holes. These holes tell a story. They show the bird in its environment. It shows what the bird does.

          Too often we crop tightly thereby foregoing showing a bit more. Not every image of a bird needs to be a solo performance. In this image, the bird is still very prominent due to its placement in the image and its striking color. However, there is more to the image than just the bird. The viewer can start looking around at the texture of the log and the holes.

          Don't be afraid to show a bit more.