Red Card on a cold day

[Hazel Grant]

Still trying to work with birds. This was taken on a very overcast day. I had some halo problems that I dealt with through desat specific colors. That seemed to work ok, but I still see noise in the bird itself. I tried Topaz Denoise but that seemed to just blur the image. Any suggestions? Nikon D7000, aperture priority, 1/2500, f5.6, iso 1250, 300mm distance. lens=Tamron 70-300,f4.0-5.6. Taken through open window with camera sitting on towel laid on ledge.

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Hi Hazel. Is 1/2500 a typo? If not, you could have used a much slower shutter-speed and consequently lower ISO. The ISO (1250), combined with the image being underexposed, are a recipe for serious digital noise problems. Most noise reduction programs work by blurring (as you noticed), and this is bad for detail. Best bet is lowest ISO possible while exposing properly. regards~Bill

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yes, underexposure is your enemy for this type of noise and the high ISO did not help either so I agree with Bill's advice here. Did you need to recover the exposure in post? As posted the image is still dark, despite the bright area in the BG. Another thing to watch out for is distracting element such as the thin twig running up against the cardinsl's bill and forehed. I do like the perfect pose and head angle of your subject, and the red plumage looks great (albeit dark) against the blacks, greys and whites. Keep at it Hazel, you'll only get better and better...and birds are fun and addicting!!

[Hazel Grant]

Thanks. I guess I hadn't realized how high the numbers were until after I took the shots and put them into the computer. It was a dark, overcast day, even at 2 pm, with snowy weather. I had it set for aperture priority, but will try to work on checking more closely. Thanks for your input!