Cedar Waxwing

Two images of the same bird. I like the first for showing the “waxed” tips and the second is the more iconic shot with a berry in its mouth.

What technical feedback would you like if any? Any

What artistic feedback would you like if any? Any

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Canon 7DII; Sigma 150-600 at 600 mm; 1/800 at f6.3, +2/3EV; ISO 320/400


Both are very nice shots. I prefer the pose of the first one the best with a little more relaxed look to it. Both images have a nice side look and lots of sharp detail. The one thing I might do is clone out or smooth out the straight line oof branch in bg above first bird. It is always interesting how complimentary the bg colors are.

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Both of these are sweet shots, Allen. I agree with David that I prefer the first, but would try getting rid of that out of focus twig. On my monitor, the first image in particular looks like the bird is a little bright to the point of losing some detail in the yellows and whites. I think you could bring the highlights down a bit and maybe add some microcontrast using whatever your favorite tool might be.

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I like the second better if you have some more room on the left.

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These are both nice but they are pretty busy. I think a tighter crop might ameliorate the busyness. You certainly have excellent detail. I think the yellow plumage could be toned down half stop which would bring out some more detail.

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Wonderful to find these guys feasting on berries! In the first the beak is a bit lost in the surrounding berries and whites are blown – maybe recoverable? In the second, the wing position is not the most attractive but the OOF BG is very nice. Any chance you were using burst mode? You might have gotten a better one. Hope you have a chance to revisit the tree before they clean it up.

Wonderful birds and joy to shoot. Birds and behavior are really, a slight minus is the busy background in both images. Of the two, I prefer the first. Best, Hans

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