Christmas Cardinal

[Ken Childs]

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p193/kjchilds/IMG_0012-2.jpg

This is my first post but please don't worry about being gentle. I'm here to learn.

A male cardinal sitting on part of my bird shooting stage. One of the first shots taken with my Christmas present. There was some whitish flaking on the beak that I cloned out but other than that, it's a basic edit.


Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Manual mode
1/160"
F8.0
Flash: On, Fired
ISO: 200
Photoshop CS3

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Lot's to like here, usually we desat the reds on the male about [-9] or so in PS so they display better. Let's see what others say, love the image. Nice detail for slow shutter (I assume tripod assisted) and flash helped as too, welcome aboard very nice post, much better than my first one. Great perch, HA and eye - well done.

Was flash external/ETTL and was any flash compensation used?

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Ken,
A big warm welcome to our BPN family,
I like your first post, you have a good head angle with good eye contact. I like the curved perch and the smooth background showcases you subject quite well. Agree with Mr. Cashdollar on desaturating the red channel just a little, would also selective sharpen the eye just a slight more...you did very well...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[Ken Childs]

Thanks for the warm welcome. :)


Was flash external/ETTL and was any flash compensation used?The flash is a Canon 430EX and +3 compensation was used.


...would also selective sharpen the eye just a slight more...Is this something that is part of your general bird edit work flow or do you use it on a case by case basis?

[Lance Peters]

Hi Ken - another big warm welcome to the BPN family - nice first post.
Agree with the above comments - for sharp images keep a eye on your shutter speed as a general rule you want to stay at 1 over the focal length as a minimum - so here if you were at 400mm - 1/400th.
Nothing wrong sharpness wise here - just general info for obtaining sharp images.

Sharpening the eye is something I use as part of my workflow depending on the subject - lots of info in the educational resources forum.

Looking forward to your next one!

[Anita Rakestraw]

Welcome, Ken; very nice first post. Sounds like you had a great Christmas!! :):D Lovely image and I agree with comments and suggestions already made.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Might I recommend in the Ed Forum:

1. Why Don't My Pictures Look Like That - Artie Morris
2. Selective Sharpening - Fabs

I have read both articles and recommend them, once completed, look over other threads in the Ed Forum as well.

[Ken Childs]

Might I recommend in the Ed Forum:

1. Why Don't My Pictures Look Like That - Artie Morris
2. Selective Sharpening - Fabs

I have read both articles and recommend them, once completed, look over other threads in the Ed Forum as well.
I'll check them out. Thanks.

Once the holidays are over and I get some time to myself, I'll spend some serious time looking through all the forums.

[Bill Dix]

Ken - Welcome! Good first post, and some good advice given above. I like the eye contact, composition and the background. Exposure and use of flash look good to me. Agree with a bit of de-sat of the reds, and selective sharpening; otherwise a handsome image. Nicely done!