I made this photo during our snow, but it had almost quit falling then. I used Topaz Clean very lightly, then I added 3 textures which I masked from the bird.
Cardinal on Crepe Myrtle
I made this photo during our snow, but it had almost quit falling then. I used Topaz Clean very lightly, then I added 3 textures which I masked from the bird.
Last edited by Judy Howle; 02-04-2013 at 11:51 PM.
Judy, this would make a nice greeting card. I love the cardinal and especially the beautiful curve in the branch. The textures are subtle but pleasing to the eye. My cardinals love my crepe myrtles.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly" - The Little Prince
http://tuscawillaphotographycherylslechta.zenfolio.com/
Thanks Cheryl! The crepe myrtle is only about 18 ft from my window so I can open it and get pretty close shots. I's also close to my feeders so birds perch there all the time.
Beautiful composition, Judy. Love the soft light and the color... excellent use of textures.
Ditto above. Wondering, is this hand held? Lens? data? I have a similar situation window-wise at my house and am still working on that really sharp one. The textures worked nicely with this one to make the bird stand out.
Thanks Hazel! It wasn't completely hand-held as I was propping my arm on the window sill, and that helped some. The IS quit working on the lens and hardly any of the images were tack sharp as I was shooting at f7.1 or larger aperture so I didn't have to kick the ISO up beyond 320 on my noisy 7D, so my shutter speed was as low as 1/100 s. It was very overcast and dark. I try to always shoot at f8 whenever possible and keep the SS up a lot higher. I should have gone ahead and kicked up the ISO and tried to deal with the noise rather than getting a lot of not quite sharp to very blurry images.Originally Posted by Hazel Grant
I like it! Cardinals are such a joy on winter days. Love the red, and the angle of the head. Keeping the berries dark allows them not to dominate the bird. Lovely texture work. A good one for this week's theme.
Thanks Indranil and Anita!
I like how the bird and the berries are leaning away from one another, and the bird has a somewhat quizzical look.
Wonderful image. Thanks for sharing the conditions and settings. The cardinals pose is a joy.
Thanks Diane and Dave!
A well-deserved first place!
Subtle processing. Great composition, color, and expression. Love it.
Congratulations on first place.
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