Female Cardinal

[mikedelaney]

canon 40D
70-300 mm
f 5.6
1/125 s.
ISO 800

this one was so pretty, even i couldn't totally mess it up. it was very complex as a picture. so much foliage and front to back action and colors. i did the best i could with it, maybe you could help simplify it.

[Alfred Forns]

You sure did mike Its just not possible to work with the selected bg !!!!!! With so many bright spots and mixed light it is just not possible

I do like how well the bird came out both from the exposure and sharpness point !!!

[mikedelaney]

thanks Alfred. the end result was striking in my eyes even though the whole thing wasn't together. like you said, there is so much foliage you can't attack it from any particular angle. ...sorry, i blew it again. also, its a juvenile, not a certain female.

[Julie Kenward]

Mike, don't feel bad about this. All photographs are a learning experience - you have to take them as such and move on to the next one.

I rarely photograph the birds at my feeders any more as I have this same type of BG and it's just next to impossible to get a good image with this kind of mixed foliage. I tend to photograph them only at lakes and wide open spaces now for that very reason. You can practice your exposure and DOF (depth of field) on photographs like this but you will probably never get a "beauty" until you find a cleaner, simpler place to make your images.

You've already learned so much about composition and DOF - maybe try changing things up for awhile and go after a new subject - try your hand at insects or flowers or landscapes for awhile. Then, when the opportunity presents itself, take what you've learned and make a beautiful aviary image.

Remember that photography isn't about just TAKING an image - it's about learning and perfecting the MAKING of an image...and that includes knowing when to say "no" by realizing what scenes work with the equipment and lighting that is available.

[mikedelaney]

thanks Julie. i'll try other places and things.

[Desmond Chan]

Mike, have you tried photographing shore birds and other larger birds? Small birds like those you have been photographing usually hide among the branches and leaves and so not that easy to get a clean background for them. Shore birds, well, most of the time it's only air and water behind them...no trees, no branches...no problem with background... am I right? :D:D

I think you can still photograph small birds, you simply have to choose when to press the shutter button and how to compose the picture. It's part of the learning process.