We had a pretty decent snow storm on Saturday and Sunday and this is an image I took of a cardinal eating seed off of one of the steps on my deck. I wasn't sure whether the snow "worked" in this image or not so please let me know what you think. Also, I did enhance the eye a bit around the pupil because the sky was so overcast. I pretty much followed what was already lighter and just added a bit more intensity to it. Would it be better to have left it alone?
Canon 40D, EF 400mm f/5.6L
f6/3 @ 1/400th, ISO 400
Manual mode, pattern metering, handheld
I think the snow works quite well with the red of the bird, and I like the snow on the beak. The pupil looks a little too black IMO. I might brighten the bird a little, and wish for a slight head turn for a better profile.
The snow on the beak pulls the image together, but I would still prefer a little detail or texture to the snow. Not always easy to capture. Agree with Doug on the pupil.
The color is perfect but the REDs are simply too dark. Or they were.... Was the pupil so large in the ORIG?
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Randy, that's what I was worried about as well. I like the red against the white but the snow just didn't come through like I had wanted. I'll go back and take another look at the raw file and see if there is anything there.
And, yes, Arthur, the pupil was that big - I simply retraced the lighter areas with a 15% light brush.
Thanks. Jules. How did the lighter version look to you?
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I think the eye needs a very small catchlight to make it come alive. Fine image in the snow. Love Cardinals in the snow. They always seem to work well.
Artie, the reds in your repost look more natural - could be that I just remembered him being that intense because he looked it at the moment! I'll definitely lighten him up some. Thanks for all your help.
Northern Cardinal
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