Juvenile Cardinal

[mikedelaney]

canon 40D
sigma 50-500 lens
f 6.3
1/80 sec
ISO 800
i tried playing with noiseware that i own. with some fiddling i got a picture that i feel is at least presentable to you.
the picture was taken in shade. i used both ps noise filter and my other noise filter. (imagenomic) i also tried local sharpening as well as global.

[Desmond Chan]

I think the composition is not bad. Perhaps it's the noise (I didn't know at ISO 800 the 40D could give you that much troublesome noise), the image overall looks soft. You took that shot with a pretty low shutter speed of 1/80. May be photographing under better lighting conditions could help as it would allow you to use faster shutter speed to freeze any unexpected movements better. Did you use a tripod for this photo? I myself try to shoot at high shutter speeds because I've noticed that birds move their heads quite frequently. Just my thoughts.

[William Malacarne]

Mike

A general rule to go by is that you want your shutter speed to be at least the equal of the focal length...so for this you would have needed 1/500 sec shutter speed.(I looked at your EXIF and saw it was at 500 mm)

Bill

[Doug West]

Mike,

Did you apply the NR to the whole pic (including the bird)? If so, that'll make your photo look a little
more out of focus. I quick mask my bird onto its own layer, then apply the NR on the layer beneath,
which touches everything, but the bird.

Also, because it was in the shade, the colors are a little "cool". Might want to try and play with
the white balance.

Doug

[Doug Brown]

Mike, could you post the unedited version of this photo so that I can better understand what's going on here? Again, I will stress that you need more shutter speed and a smaller aperture to get sharp images with your lens. The 40D should handle ISO 800 without breaking a sweat.

[Alfred Forns]

Great suggestions particularly like the idea of a re post of the original !!!

Good suggestion about the noise reduction, it is a good thing to do but comes at a price.... loss of sharpness. If applied "normally" should be fine... but only use it if you have to and not as a routine step.

I do like the overall feel of the image, you don't need razor sharp all the time, this look is very appealing. Would like to see more room up top and the bird placed further to the right Love the low angle creating a manageable bg !!!

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Like the grass in the foreground and the placement of the bird in the frame.

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Love the colours in this - well done Mike!

[Anita Rakestraw]

I too like the colors in this and think the softness is appealing; gives it a bit of a painterly look. I'm not familiar with that lens; does it have image stabilization? Or do you use a tripod or beanbag to stabilize?