Northern Cardinals in snow storm
I had forgotten I had taken this. I was browsing through some old winter images and found this from a snowstorm last March 10th, never processed. This is full-frame. I removed an oof Blue Jay and an oof Northern Cardinal male in the far left corner. I like the little House Finch, but he is also oof, and it would probably make a cleaner image without him. (See next pane.)
D500, 80-400VR @ 340mm, ISO 1000, 1/400s @ f/7.1 manual.
Here it is without the House Finch. This is cropped about 7%.
Hi Bill, nice wintery image... love the snow. I prefer the image with the House Finch, to me the image is more balanced. Thank you for sharing.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
www.amazinglight.smugmug.com
Bill, I like the trio, for me these images are unique as being born and raised in Southern CA., I've never
had that much experience in snow maybe sledding a couple of times when I was a kid and maybe cross country skiing once.
Very nice.
-Tim
Tim Foltz
http://www.timfoltzphotography.com
Bill:
Lovely soft light, nut in bill, snow piled up on branches and falling as well.
I slightly prefer #2, without the finch.
Randy
Great shot, really showing the struggle for survival in the harsh winter conditions. nice perch collecting all the fresh sticky snow.
Pretty shot Bill. I like both of them equally. Can't go wrong with songbirds in the snow. I remember the shot you posted last year of the cardinal from your yard. Was actually talking to someone about it the other day when it was snowing. Still don't have a proper Cardinal shot. Maybe one day... Happy New Year and hope we can get together soon.
Great wintery scene, Bill. Another vote for the first image, and as Joe mentioned it is a bit more balanced, plus I like the House Finch with his complimentary colors.
Geoffrey
https://500px.com/geoffreymontagu
Thank you all. For those who liked the OP better, I've tried a few magic tricks to get some better detail into the little finch.
Your final post nails this for me, Bill and is a really nicely balanced composition. I'm envious of the opportunities to photograph birds in the snow (although happy not to have to live with it) as it is a rarity in Australia except for the high country near Canberra where I live and south into Victoria. I like the nice definition and tone in the snow but with great tone and colour in the birds as well. Tricky to achieve, I suspect. For me, the only really minor thing I'd do is to get rid of the OOF snow flake 'in' the right bird's bill which caught my eye as soon as I looked at this image.
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