I am working on constructing a bird blind in an attempt to draw birds closer for more suitable photography. This guy was among my first visitors. Photo taken in very overcast conditions.
Any
Is this a composite: No
Canon 60D, Canon 70-300mm IS USM, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 1200, Shot in Manual Mode and processed in Adobe Camera Raw and PSE 2020 for exposure and sharpening.
Beautiful image of this cardinal, Terry. We also have cardinals, but I have totally failed in trying to get a decent photo. Love the detail and the environment. Nicely done.
Thanks, Linda. Though they’re common around here, they can be surprisingly difficult to photograph, being very wary.
Love the pose on the cardinal, and I like that rocky perch. It’s not something I usually see a cardinal land on. Techs look just right to me for the dark environment. I’d like to see the image larger, but I’m curious whether this is a large crop? Seems like image quality could be a little better. Definitely looking forward to see what you come up with using the blind!
Boy that bright red bird really pops. Looks good. I like where you placed the bird in the frame. And good idea about the blind. Hope it works out.
@Lyle_Gruby Thanks, Lyle. T he crop was larger than I wanted - about 50 per cent due to an ugly pole at the left side of the frame. But I wanted that shot of him on this rock! I don’t know why it can’t be enlarged. Something about the way I processed it, I guess?
@David_Leroy Thanks, David. I’m still experimenting with the blind; moving things around, trying to get closer to the birds and have good BG’s to shoot into. I want to have it “perfected” by the time the migrants start showing up in a couple months!
I guess it’s the first time I see this species perched on a rock. It really stands out and I love that you set up the frame this spacious. Well done ! Cheers, Hans
Hi Terry, the rock perch sets off this image quite well. Nice profile pose you captured on the bird. Bird is well placed in the frame.
Very nice perch and a cool shot of the Cardinal, Terry. Sometimes the images just don’t seem to load right and you just end up with the reduced size image on the site. You can try reloading it when that happens (just go into the edit mode, delete the line that the link to the image and then click add image and reload it).
If this is going to be part of your regular setup, I’d pay attention to the background and see if you can get rid of distracting elements so you don’t have to mess with them in processing. This isn’t bad, but I do find the out of focus gray behind the bird a little unappealing.
Thanks, Dennis. I’ll give that a try.
The oof gray you’re seeing is another large rock. Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue but, wouldn’t you know it? The sun happened to be at the wrong angle when I took this photo. However, it wouldn’t be a problem to throw a green tarp, or something similar over it if I’m going to be taking photographs.
I’ve found that camo material from the sporting goods stores works pretty well for a background when you have something especially ugly to block.
