8 replies to this topic

[canon eos]

I shot this Cardinal image earlier this year in the Finger Lakes area of upper New York. It was getting my attention with its beautiful song at first, then I saw it way up on a tree top, perhaps 60-80ft away.
This first image is edited, but very little. (I shoot in RAW only, to give me a little more editing latitude). I cropped, increased the exposure (even spot metering can be off with a smaller bird at that distance), reduced noise a little, and sharpened a little as well.
I see some Cardinal images that blow me away(!) but I have tried working on this (and a few others I shot) and I'm not so sure?
What do you think?


6724 by canuckguyinadarkroom, on Flickr

This is as shot:



Thanks for any input.

[Marvey]

I think it's fine the way it is. (The closer one.) What is it you're wanting to change, exactly?

[BigSkyKen]

You did a great technical job on the image, the focus is sharp and the colors look real. I have found it extremely difficult to get one of those "blow you away" images when shooting at upward angles over 30 degrees. The belly and landing gear of birds is only so appealing, so regardless of the lighting and sharpness, it will only be attractive to a point. The reality is that many birds only allow us that kind of shot, so lately I've tried get shots when that are "doing something" from that high perch. Could be preening, cocking their head, fluffing up their feathers or craning their neck to see something. It think these help to add some interest, but still don't yield great shots.

[canon eos]

I think it's fine the way it is. (The closer one.) What is it you're wanting to change, exactly?

Thanks. I'm ostensibly a photographer, and now one who shoots birds mostly. Feedback of any type is valuable to me.
I think Ken above has some good points.
The ideal bird in the ideal position in ideal lighting is hard to bring home. I know some spend more time (and money!!) at this with locales, blinds, super-lenses but that's not my style.
Any other input and/or thoughts is welcome.

[lonestranger]

I like what you've done with the picture as it is, canon eos, but I totally understand about wanting to get more punch out of these kind of shots. As BigSkyKen mentioned, the angle and distance doesn't help matters but I think you might be able to get more punch out of the image by playing around with the background. Depending on how creative you want to get, perhaps you could overlay the bird and it's perch over a golden evening sunset kind of sky, or place the bird in a complimentary scene, perhaps with some greenery behind it. With the bird and it's perch being isolated, you could easily copy and paste it into a different photo or just create a background of your own.

I did a quick attempt at a background just as an example. Absolutely no effort went into this and it does nothing to improve your photo, but the idea might be something you may not have considered so I offer this solely as bouncing an idea off you, it's not a worthy attempt at editing your photo.

[canon eos]

Thanks, Lonestranger. Yes, backgrounds can make a lot of difference. I don't have the skills, time or patience to get too into it, though.
Off on a tangent here...................
I have done portraiture for many years and I can see a parallel, perhaps. While some may oooh and ahhh over a very attractive subject no matter the setting or pose, to me the image is not right until it comes together. It's why I prefer doing studio work where I can reduce and control many more variables.
For this Cardinal image, I can see that there is not enough going for it; the angle, the background, and even the pose are not going to make this an ideal image.

I just came across this posting at another forum of a Turkey Vulture. Most of us get them from far below (much like my Cardinal!) but this was shot at its level (from the Niagara Escarpment, near the Lonestranger, I believe!). Makes for a wonderful image, in my opinion.

http://www.naturepho...8229fe8&u=13456

Thanks again for any input.

[Joejr14]

I agree with what's already been said. Colors are good, exposure is good, sharpness is good, angle sucks. There's nothing you can do about the angle, obviously, so you've done everything you can with the picture.

Edit it up a little bit to get what you want out of it post processing, and throw it into your 'cardinal' folder or however you sort images, and look for another 'awesome' shot of a cardinal.

I've got a lot of fantastic picture of many species, but not of a cardinal. They're super tough birds, at least in my experience, to get good shots of. Here they're super spooky and just do not sit still even when you get lucky and one pops up close.

[Marvey]

I have tons of photographs of male and female cardinals. Also them both feeding their young. If you have any place you can shoot pictures out of a window in your house, place bird seed on a deck rail that's close or even a tray on the ground. If no deck rail, make a platform with saw horses and plywood. Then put the tray (like a lunch tray) of seed out. You'll have a vantage point from the window for some stellar pics in no time! Here's my bird album on Facebook if you'd like to see mine. I'm a newbie photographer, too, so I'm SURE my pics need critiquing! I've only been taking pics since Fall of 2010 when I got my Olympus Pen and only photographing birds since last April. It's addicting. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3690695279640.147689.1642991774&type=1&l=d1921f5a74

[canon eos]

Thanks again. I appreciate the input.