Northern Cardinal

[Henry Domke]

I'm working on getting some decent cardinal pictures.
This bird was attracted by some food I tossed under a plum thicket by our barn.
Any thoughts on the background? Too busy? Too gray?
How about the natural perch?

Any suggestions or comments on getting a great cardinal pictures would be appreciated.



Canon 5D3 600II + 1.4X TC f/10 1/2500sec ISO 2,500 Tripod used
Tent used as a blind
Processed with Lightrooom 5 and Photoshop CC

[John Robinson]

You know me Henry - I like a natural background with in reason. many don't though- so each to their own. Bird IQ is superb and if I had a littl nit it would be the pale twig coming out of the birds head.
Cheers
JohnR

[keith mitchell]

Henry I think the bird would take your eye away from any perceived BG problems,it really is stunning, perch is what the bird decided to sit on so that's just fine.

Keith.

[Henry Domke]

... if I had a littl nit it would be the pale twig coming out of the birds head.

I see what you mean. Thanks for seeing that. I've reworked the file to try to fix it.
Thanks!

[John Robinson]

That'l do for me Henry. Much better in my mind. (But who am I???)
Cheers
John

[Henry Domke]

(But who am I???)

Yes... who are we? Really...
Probably a better topic for a forum on religion or philosophy!
Hah!

[Holger Leyrer]

The repost looks great. I like the color contrast (red bird and brown BG) and the details.

[Andrew Merwin]

The RP does it for me. I think the BG makes the cardinal pop & gives it a 3D look. I am ok with the branches & I think removing the "head-twig" was a good decision.

[David N Smith]

Great shot Henry. I like the RP better also.

David

[christopher galeski]

Loverly shot Henry,repost is the one,IQ magic,nice light.

[douglas hayes]

stunning detail-what was the lighting setup? The rt foreground branch does bother me a little and i would probably remove the upper stem. Love the Cardinal reds

[Henry Domke]

what was the lighting setup?

I followed Artie Morris's advice by positioning the sun behind me so that my shadow was pointing at the bird. That is the only light source. It was a clear sunny day.

The rt foreground branch does bother me a little and i would probably remove the upper stem.

Thanks. I'll play with that to see what I think.

[kevin Hice]

Henry great shot I like natural backgrounds the repost is better I think it might be too sharp though.I have been trying some cardinal shots lately in natural cover and they dont like to expose their self for long and also like to stay low.