male cardinal

[eric s]

We got dumped on with 19 inches of snow this weekend. So instead of trying to go out and shoot some pictures I shot from inside into our backyard. I was shooting some through a glass door (on a tripod), but this one was different. I went to the kitchen and climbed up on to the counter and stood over the sink. Then I lowered the top half of the window (lower half has a screen) and shot through the opening. Yes, my girlfriend was not home... how did you guess?

I only left the house to shovel... 4 times! I feel lucky, some places got a bit over 30 inches of snow. Now that is serious.

This cardinal was sitting on a grapevine in our arbor, but it's actually eating some berries of something else that has grown up next to it. I have some shots of the female cardinal as well... I need to work one of those up too.

Camera: Canon 10D, 100-400L @ 400mm 1/350th, F6.7, ISO 800 (hidden fairly well among the falling snow, so I didn't remove it.)
PS work: Crop, reduce, USM, levels, contrast.

As always... all comments or reedits (if you post it and say what you did!) are welcome.

Eric

[eric s]

No comments? Ok, I'll ask some questions then.

I felt that the branches covering the bird was a bit risky. I didn't have a choice, but still... I wasn't sure if it would distract/detract. I don't think it does, but what do you all think?

There is no "catch light" in the eye. I could have added one in PS, but I felt that was cheating. On the other hand, I didn't think the flash would work in the snow (don't know, would the snow reflect it?) Does it loose something without the catch light?

Eric

[djb]

the branches and snow distract me. but, overall, it is a good catch considering the conditions.

dennis

[Soundengineer]

This is a lovely winter photo.

Yes, I think it is a shame about the reflection of the window in front of the bird, but other than that, I think that the colour of the bird and the berries against the white snow makes for a stunning scene.

Enjoy the snow

[eric s]

Actually, this picture was taken through an open windows, so there should be no reflection. Where do you think you see it? I did take some through glass, but I don't believe this was one of them.

Eric

[ACSmith]

Maybe SoundEngineer is talking about the blur in the right half of the frame. Caused (guessing) by the DoF?

I love it as is. I wish I'd thought of the ol'stand in the sink technique! This weekend I had a similar shot of a huge woodpecker at our backyard feeder, but when I opened the slider to the deck it squeeeeked and scared him away. Next time you jump up there, have your gf take a shot of you .

[checklg]

Originally Posted by ACSmith

Maybe SoundEngineer is talking about the blur in the right half of the frame. Caused (guessing) by the DoF?

The DOF looks ok to me, the Cardinal tail feather edges look fairly sharp.

In terms of the overall shot I like the fact that the Cardinal seems top have a snowflake on its head (although it probably wasn't very happy about it), and I like the whites and reds.

It sounds like you had a lot of fun getting this shot, Eric. It's one of the things that I like about photography and birdwatching, they give you the excuse to get into odd situations, and even to get dirty without the grown-ups shouting at you !

[sasc]

I like it, the snow in front is not that much distraction and points out how much snow there is. I can see a slight highlight in the eye and I would bring it out in software. I dont really consider that cheating (not much anyway 8)