Mrs. Cardinal - backyard rediscovered

[Randy Stout]

This nice young lady was visiting my feeder this am. I haven't shot in my backyard for a number of years, despite having a wealth of avian visitors to my feeders. But, I couldn't go anywhere today because of a call situation, and wanted to shoot, so into the backyard I went. I used my "slind", a combination of ice fishing sled and chair blind, to plunk down near the feeders, and spent an enjoyable hour or so with my feathered friends.

D4 600VR f/5 1/640 ISO 800 Pedestal mounted in blind

Post: CS5, selective sharpening, 40% crop for comp. I was shooting fairly loose in case some of the larger birds, jays and redbellied woodpeckers came in. A little more DOF would have been nice, and with the D4 I should have pushed the ISO up.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Karl Egressy]

Nice pose and background Randy.
I was shooting with ISO 1600 in two consecutive days as a necessity and was surprised how noise free the images were. (1D MIV)
Your camera would easily handle ISO 1600 or more.

[Colin Knight]

Agree with your self-critique about more DOF. Otherwise, beautiful!! You should shoot in your backyard more often. =)

[Dumay de Boulle]

Lovely BG and nice perch. Fine detail is great. Needs more DOF for art the least the feet to be sharp. Looking at your settings I think you could have at least gone ISO 1000 (Considering the capabilities of the D3s & D4) and f8 to still keep enough SS. Very nice image!

[Peter Dexter]

Interesting coloration she has, almost partial albino. Very nice pose and detail.

[Joel Eade]

Very nice, I shoot in my backyard about 99% of the time....due to work and family responsibilities my trips for photography are few and far between.

Despite that limitation, I agree with you that it is a very enjoyable way to practice our beloved hobby and some very nice images are possible....like this one:)

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the pose, crest and BG. I agree that more DOF would be nice.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Randy I strongly suspect at this magnification you would have required a tiny aperture to get that tail in focus from that angle. I don't think it matters much anyway, it is not usual to see all of the bird in focus unless it it more sideways on.

[Satish Ranadive]

Sweet image of beautiful lady.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for the comments. DOF does get to be a challenge at this relatively close distance, 16 ft., long focal length, 600mm

f/5 (as exposed) - .72"
f/8 1.08"
f/16 2.16"


Should have been at f/8, by running the ISO up. f/16 wasn't going to happen under those conditions.

I was also trying to be sure my BG was well blurred.

Ah, just part of the fun!

Cheers

Randy

[J van Noordwyk]

Verry good pose,detail and a stunning bg well captured Randy.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, killer pose captured, and love the raised crest. You have brought out the plumage nicely, sharp where it counts, and a vertical was the only way to go. Interesting to see the huge difference in colours between the bright red male, and this lady posted. There again, most male species in the bird world are more colourful than their partners.

[gail bisson]

Very nice Randy.
I love how you give yourself your own critiques! I will just copy and paste your comments.
I am OK with the DOF.
A good solid shot with a lovely complimentary BG. Perch is a perfect size for the bird. Great IQ in head and feathers.
Gail

[Daniel Cadieux]

I too am OK with the DOF...what needs to be sharp is (eye and face)...the rest falls wherever it does. Lovely image all around, excellent vertical comp.