Here is another shot from my recent Cedar Waxwing shoot. Hopefully this one shows better detail than my last post. Their naturally sleek feathers make them a real challenge to shoot.
The bird was not all that high up, but I was very close. I added some canvas to the left.
I saturated and darkend the BG sky, cloned out small branches below the bird on both sides of the perch. I boosted the contrast on the bird, worked on the eye and sharpened the whole bird a touch.
I did a second round of sharpening on the head and shoulder area, hopefully I did not go to far.
Sony A700, 70-400G, f5.6, 1/160, iso800, HH on a cloudy morning. (forgot my tripod:o)
He's a beauty, Peter! You might check your yellows and the red on his tail and make sure they aren't oversaturated...they look to be very close. You might try lowering the saturation but increasing the luminosity on the yellows and see if that gives a bright but less overpowering color.
Love the perch and the placement of the bird - might think of taking a small slice off the top and left as he feels a tiny bit low in the frame.
Very nice job. This is much stronger than your 1st post but, I also like the action of the first one. The only birds I find at our shopping mall are House sparrows, starlings, and Brewer's blackbirds.
Craig.
Hi Peter. I agree the previous shot had great action, but this is the better image IMHO. Hard to get both the signature red and yellow markings in one shot. And I agree about the smooth feathers in this species - esp. the breast feathers; they are so smooth that they can look detail-less even in a sharp shot. I think you did well with this one. Maybe a tad off the top as Jules suggested.
Cedar Waxwing #2
