Cardinal on Mesquite

[gail bisson]

Taken at Santa Clara Ranch in Texas.
Canon 1 DX
600mm
ISO 2000 f 5.6 SS 1/1600
PP: Small crop, usual LR sliders, then off to Photoshop for levels, reduced saturation of red slightly, NR to BG and USM to JPEG.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[annmpacheco]

Hi Gail, a lovely male cardinal perched in a nice spot! I like the soft light and the color of the BG to compliment this very red bird! Sweet.

[Isaac Grant]

You know I have cardinals that nest in my yard and see them every day all year long and still do not have a proper shot of them! This is very nice Gail. Nice perch, nice background, nice controlled reds and smoking nice details. I would tone down the bright area above the bird a little. Also was it possible to get to your left to get the perch more of the perch in focus? Or this was behind a blind?

[Daniel Grossi]

It's crazy how common these birds are where I live, yet I seem to never have an opportunity to get a shot like this. If you're the type that's inclined to remove things from the original image, I would try removing that branch on the bottom right and see what you think. Amazing job with the reds by the way. At quick glance it almost seems over-saturated, but after looking for a moment, clearly it's not.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Beautiful image Gail but I think there is an awful lot of yellow also a little luminance control on the cardinal would help, I think this could be outstanding.

[Daniel Grossi]

Beautiful image Gail but I think there is an awful lot of yellow also a little luminance control on the cardinal would help, I think this could be outstanding.

I'm gald you brought up the red luminance, I was thinking the same. I think a slight adjustment could do a lot for it.

[Daniel Cadieux]

As posted, the reds are clipping, but I love the pose and very neat perch with all those delicate leaves (I love the cardinal's left foot grabbing some of those leaves).

[David Policansky]

OK. Gail, since this is that kind of site and you asked, I'd love this image even more if more of the mesquite leaves were in focus. But I'm talking of gilding a lily here (or a cardinal, in this case). It's a stunning image. I have not had very good success photographing these birds, and I'm not sure why. They certainly are common enough and red enough. You nailed this one.

[gail bisson]

Hi Isaac, Yes, I was in a blind and could not move.
David- The perch was a set-up but it got bumped by one of the birds and shifted slightly. We did fix it, but only after the cardinal came and went!
I will play with the reds but feel pretty confident that this was how I saw it!
Thanks to everyone for commenting!

[David Salem]

Fantastic Cardinal frame Gail!! Love the pose, perch and the great BG colors. Reds look good on my calibrated monitor. Well done

[Glenn Pure]

Gail, beautiful work here. The other critiques have covered this well - mainly red looking a bit 'hot' and perhaps exposure a bit bright overall. I also wondered about your DOF/aperture choice here. I would be tempted to stop down a little but hindsight is no real help! Image design, pose and background all excellent.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, you have captured a great angled pose, and nicely framed between the foliage. The light looks soft enough, reds look fine from here, and just love the overall clarity on the Cardinal. Well captured.