Female Northern Cardinal

[Bob Blanchard]

Moderate to heavy rains kept me pinned close to home most of the day, but I couldn't resist getting out a bit in between showers to take advantage of the nice diffused light. Came across this nice Female Cardinal out by my feeders (I live backed up to a preserve, so my feeder setup is actually back in a small clearing).

My own self critique is that I think f/5 would've been spot-on for DOF, and the interaction between her tail and the branch bothers me a bit. I'd rather see a bit of seperation between the two. I really like these 3/4 angle "over-the-shoulder" poses on Cardinals, Jays, and Buntings. I know most go for the front view, but these poses are my preference (but the head hangle still has to be right, of course!).

Canon 1DsMII, 600mm f/4L, f/4, 1/640, ISO 200, 0 EV, Overcast skies in early afternoon between rain showers, off tripod. Location was the preserve behind my house.

http://CatcherofLight.smugmug.com/photos/331253637_fzRUN-X3.jpg

[Ramon M. Casares]

Who wouldn't like this shot! Bg, cloudy day light (my favorite) compostiion, eye contact, sharpness... all A++ Congrats!

[Doug Brown]

I like this type of pose for cardinals also. Great color, sharpness, and BG. The perch gets a little heavy at the bottom, and I would remove the part that sticks out to the right. Still, a very nice image!

[DanWalters]

Great shot! Love the details in the bird and the soft background.

[Maxis Gamez]

Hi Bob,

Very nice pose and details on this one. I would pick a perch with less sticks on top, to prevent one showing behind your subject :)

Noise looks good and so is sharpening! :)

Take care!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great pose, soft light and BG, the perch is not ideal. You could have gone to ISO 400 and stop down more for wider DOF.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Really like this image Bob. The details and color are excellent and I personnaly like the perch as it shows it like it is. Great BG too to show off this lovely capture. Many thanks for sharing and congrats.