Northern Cardinals in snow storm

[Bill Dix]

I had forgotten I had taken this. I was browsing through some old winter images and found this from a snowstorm last March 10th, never processed. This is full-frame. I removed an oof Blue Jay and an oof Northern Cardinal male in the far left corner. I like the little House Finch, but he is also oof, and it would probably make a cleaner image without him. (See next pane.)

D500, 80-400VR @ 340mm, ISO 1000, 1/400s @ f/7.1 manual.

[Bill Dix]

Here it is without the House Finch. This is cropped about 7%.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Bill, nice wintery image... love the snow. I prefer the image with the House Finch, to me the image is more balanced. Thank you for sharing.

[Tim Foltz]

Bill, I like the trio, for me these images are unique as being born and raised in Southern CA., I've never
had that much experience in snow maybe sledding a couple of times when I was a kid and maybe cross country skiing once.
Very nice.

-Tim

[Randy Stout]

Bill:

Lovely soft light, nut in bill, snow piled up on branches and falling as well.

I slightly prefer #2, without the finch.

Randy

[Michael Thompson]

Great shot, really showing the struggle for survival in the harsh winter conditions. nice perch collecting all the fresh sticky snow.

[Isaac Grant]

Pretty shot Bill. I like both of them equally. Can't go wrong with songbirds in the snow. I remember the shot you posted last year of the cardinal from your yard. Was actually talking to someone about it the other day when it was snowing. Still don't have a proper Cardinal shot. Maybe one day... Happy New Year and hope we can get together soon.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Great wintery scene, Bill. Another vote for the first image, and as Joe mentioned it is a bit more balanced, plus I like the House Finch with his complimentary colors.

Geoffrey




https://500px.com/geoffreymontagu (https://500px.com/geoffreymontagu)

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all. For those who liked the OP better, I've tried a few magic tricks to get some better detail into the little finch.

[Glenn Pure]

Your final post nails this for me, Bill and is a really nicely balanced composition. I'm envious of the opportunities to photograph birds in the snow (although happy not to have to live with it) as it is a rarity in Australia except for the high country near Canberra where I live and south into Victoria. I like the nice definition and tone in the snow but with great tone and colour in the birds as well. Tricky to achieve, I suspect. For me, the only really minor thing I'd do is to get rid of the OOF snow flake 'in' the right bird's bill which caught my eye as soon as I looked at this image.