Waxwing

[John Chardine]

Unfortunately, I found a Cedar Waxwing dead on the ground outside the house yesterday. Probably a window kill.

I decided to immortalise it by making a macro image of the "waxwing" itself. The The red "bits" look like sealing wax, hence the name. They are flattened extensions of the feather shafts.

This is a 3 image (-1ev, 0, +1) HDR processed in Photomatix using exposure fusion- I wanted a very natural look. I did this so that I could expose the darker feathers properly, without clipping the reds in the waxy bits. I shot the wing outside and shielded the set-up with an studio umbrella so that I would not get nasty highlights.

Sharpened in Topaz Infocus.

Date: 31 May, 2012, Time: 1141h
Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Nikon 60mm f2.8 Macro
Program: Manual
ISO 100, 1/2.5s (0ev), f/16

[Bob Miller]

HI John.... nice macro shot....If this were mine I would crop a good bit off the right and try to emphasize the lines on the left......possibly with color efex or some high pass sharpening. Also the reds look a bit clipped on my monitor.. I think with a bit more work you could make this image sing.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like the idea and it is a good subject. I am not the world's best when it comes to composition but I feel there is some conflict going on here, I wonder if a landscape image of the wing would produce a calmer image with the feathers flowing in a similar direction to the wax tips?

[John Chardine]

Thanks Bob and Jonathan- There were no hot pixels before the conversion to jpeg but there are a few now scattered throughout. There is virtually no detail in the waxy bits and it gives the impression the whole thing is blown. I think I have used as much sharpening as I dare. You can actually see the barbules coming off the barbs. The barbules, which are tiny, make the barbs look a little fuzzy. I think a vertical crop would work here. I'll try it.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi John. We don't see too many bird photos here in Macro. :S3: The detail is excellent and those reds really pop! I like the way you handled the lighting with HDR and the umbrella. Like Bob, I think a crop from the right would improve the comp and further emphasize the red tips and the wing feathers on the left. Very well done!

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi John, very creative thinking! I like it as presented, but I can see there are more options re. composition, which could work equally well or even better. I love the textures and the red on black.

[Celeste Painter]

Nice image--love the composition. I've always wondered what those look like close up. Thanks for posting.

-Celeste

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey John,
I'm on the fence with the comp.....may prefer a bit less RH side......but nice and sharp and great to see something unusual!

[John Chardine]

Many thanks. I definitely think less on the right is a good idea. In fact I used the image in the recent photo workshop I gave and I did just that.

[Ken Childs]

John, I agree about cropping some from the right but it sounds like you already know that is a good idea. :S3:

Other than that, this one looks awesome!

[Doug Brown]

Very cool frame John! Exceptional detail.