# Birds in the snow **URL:** \ **Category:** Image Critiques\ **Tags:** birds\ **Created:** [January 10, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844 "2025-01-10T20:04:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Allen\_Sparks](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/allen_sparks/32/63507_2.png) [@Allen\_Sparks](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Allen_Sparks)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/1 "2025-01-10T20:04:29Z")
![BT 1.jpg](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/9/b/9b22bec7874a9f33af74b2ad94cec6ea8ed2ca2a.jpeg) ![PW 1.jpg](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/2/3/2315e4b1293c88df521be6ed050589738af4f50f.jpeg) Mid-tone boost below: ![PW 1 - V](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/6/4/6482234fa723766dab9aa43fa6fb8ba56684b43a.jpeg) ![PW 2.jpg](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/9/4/945d81ce4eb264c342903f83382f9c5f883e85ad.jpeg) Mid-tone boost below: ![PW 2 - V](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/b/3/b36a8a3c60783708e43998ebec81bf41ae264369.jpeg) > **Critique Style Requested:** _Standard_ > > The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image. ### Description A rare snow day in Memphis today. I went out and photographed some birds at the backyard setup. A brown thrasher surprisingly showed up as well as a male pine warbler. Attracted by peanuts and sunflower chips. ### Specific Feedback How does the snow look? I rarely photograph snow. I wanted to keep the texture and overall white look. The BG of the pine warbler was in shade so has a grayish look. ### Technical Details Canon R7, Canon 200-800mm, tripod ISO 1600, f10, 1/800s Processed in DXO PureRaw 4 and Photoshop. * * * ### Critique Template Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas. - Vision and Purpose: - Conceptual: - Emotional Impact and Mood: - Composition: - Balance and Visual Weight: - Depth and Dimension: - Color: - Lighting: - Processing: - Technical: ---
**Author:** ![Diane\_Miller](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/diane_miller/32/27391_2.png) [@Diane\_Miller](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Diane_Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/2 "2025-01-10T21:54:16Z")
Gorgeous, all!! I almost never have a chance to photograph snow, but it looks good to me. The exposure on the bottom two might be pushed up just a hair?? Should be possible to bring up the mids, so the whites don’t blow out. ---
**Author:** ![Dennis\_Plank](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/dennis_plank/32/27033_2.png) [@Dennis\_Plank](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Dennis_Plank)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/3 "2025-01-10T22:08:42Z")
Nice, Allen. We don’t get snow often, but I love to photograph in it when we do. The light is really special. You did a good job on the snow. I do think @Diane_Miller has a good idea on bringing up the mids a bit. Sometimes I’ll just bow up a curves adjustment and maybe even pull down the right end point a trifle. Keeping the texture is tricky. ---
**Author:** ![Allen\_Sparks](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/allen_sparks/32/63507_2.png) [@Allen\_Sparks](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Allen_Sparks)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/4 "2025-01-10T23:39:33Z")
Thanks @Diane_Miller and @Dennis_Plank , I tried boosting mid-tones on the bird a tad (posted above). I used NIK Viveza 7 and selected a control point on the primary wing and upped mid-tones about 20%. Not sure if that is what you meant. Difference is subtle but I’m afraid raising them more would lighten the wing feathers too much. ---
**Author:** ![Diane\_Miller](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/diane_miller/32/27391_2.png) [@Diane\_Miller](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Diane_Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/5 "2025-01-11T00:09:31Z")
Aren’t the lightest tones on the wing white? Even in the very nice subdued shady light, I think you have a lot of leeway to brighten the midtones. ![PW-1-DM](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/d/6/d650051bcdd4cff61f7bb74ce3047984aca3b77e.jpeg) ![Screenshot 2025-01-10 at 4.06.25 PM](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/8/8/880ffdecbd8ab7f593231f2fa731532634037b0f.png) ---
**Author:** ![Allen\_Sparks](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/allen_sparks/32/63507_2.png) [@Allen\_Sparks](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Allen_Sparks)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/6 "2025-01-11T00:26:16Z")
Oh okay. Thanks! I’ll give that a look. ---
**Author:** ![Allen\_Sparks](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/allen_sparks/32/63507_2.png) [@Allen\_Sparks](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Allen_Sparks)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 1:12am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/8 "2025-01-11T01:12:26Z")
Thanks Sandy, I looked at other pine warbler images and the wing whites seem gray washed at times and the body other than the bright yellow seemed to be a darker olive. I appreciate Diane’s suggestion though. Can always be good to take a second look. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Zablotny](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/jim_zablotny/32/3919_2.png) [@Jim\_Zablotny](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Jim_Zablotny)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 1:39pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/9 "2025-01-11T13:39:20Z")
![PW 1JEZedited](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/4/3/4386510b199cffb8a1074a282fb202e54126037c.jpeg) Hi Allen, Snow is challenging due to its crunchy texture. I took the liberty of doing some edits to your excellent pine warbler photo. I did a curves adjustment to the midtones using TK’s Rapid Masking , flattened the image and then bumped up the microcontrast which enhanced the feather details and snow texture. The changes are subtle and the last step involved increasing the brightness and contrast slightly. One way of increasing snow detail is to use some fill flash which will brighten and bring out some of the highlights. Awesome series…Jim ---
**Author:** ![Dennis\_Plank](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/dennis_plank/32/27033_2.png) [@Dennis\_Plank](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Dennis_Plank)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 3:34pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/10 "2025-01-11T15:34:39Z")
Since other’s are chiming in on snow processing, while I haven’t tried it yet (no snow this winter) , I suspect using a local adjustment brush in LR and playing with the texture slider might work pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Allen\_Sparks](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/allen_sparks/32/63507_2.png) [@Allen\_Sparks](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Allen_Sparks)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 5:15pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/11 "2025-01-11T17:15:55Z")
Thanks Jim. Looks good. All this have given me much to consider in photographing in a situation I rarely see (snow). I don’t have the TK applications so will have to do any tweaking in other apps. I have more snow shots to post. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Allen\_Brooks](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/allen_brooks/32/390_2.png) [@Allen\_Brooks](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Allen_Brooks)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/birds-in-the-snow/44844/12 "2025-01-11T17:54:38Z")
Excellent detail in these birds. The light on the thrasher is especially nice.