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Thread: Red

  1. #1

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    Red

    A Northern Cardinal.

    Poor? Good as is? Can be better?

    Thanks a lot.

    Red

  2. #2
    epmi314's Avatar
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    Re: Red

    I like this shot great deal as is. It is sharp, the color is great and the worn wood seems to match the Cardinal which is not in its full red color. In fact the color of the paint on the wood is very similar to the color on the tip of the wing. I can't really tell if a slightly different crop might work better. Perhaps a little less room on the left might be worth a try but that is splitting hairs. I will defer to others with more experience. Nicely done!

  3. #3
    ktuli's Avatar
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    Re: Red

    Bobo,

    I'm not a huge fan of the centered subject framing on this one. If you do want to keep the bird centered, I'd actually go with a square crop on this one. The background and the board that guy is sitting on really don't contribute much of anything to the shot, so I would reduce them as much as possible.

    The clarity on the feathers and the catchlight in the eye is fantastic though. Nice capture!

    - Bill

  4. #4
    FrankMi's Avatar
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    Re: Red

    Hi Bobo, if there is one thing that I think is hurting the beautiful detail of the Cardinal it would be the detailed character of board he is sitting on. It takes the eye off the subject. If you have post processing software, you might try to tone down the contrast of the board and build up the contrast and vibrancy of the Cardinal to make it more prominent in the scene. Then, as Scott and Bill have mentioned, play with the cropping to see what looks best to you.

  5. #5
    epmi314's Avatar
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    Re: Red

    I originally liked the wood in the shot but also can see how it takes a bit away from the subject as Frank and Bill have mentioned. The Cardinal's tail gets a little lost in the detail of the wood. That being the case, I agree that fiddling around with the crop or toning down the contrast of the wood is a worthwhile idea. Good eye Bill and Frank!

  6. #6
    jjbacoomba's Avatar
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    Re: Red

    Nice capture Bobo! My favorite bird of all time.

  7. #7

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    Re: Red

    Just beautiful as is, great catch. As has already been mentioned the detail in the feathers and catch light in the eye are outstanding. Personally I like the texture of the wood as it gives some context, but that's just me.

    Also as mentioned I would play a bit with the crop. The bird is a bit central. There are also some bright spots on the edges that I would clone to keep the background solid (If they don't get cropped), and there is a hazy white patch on the wood top right that if it does not get cropped out I would try to clone.

    I love this shot, I have cardinals in the backyard and I find that unlike the blue jays the cardinals seem very timid and I have yet to get close enough for a really good shot. I love everything about this one: the background, the context, the pose and expression, and especially the detail and texture captured in the feathers. I'd be thrilled if it was my shot.

    Wendy

  8. #8

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    Re: Red

    Thanks everyone for taking the trouble to give some very constructive suggestions.

    Redone a bit based on your comments. Also lightened up the mouth area to show the tongue a bit more clearly and some missing detail on the neck below the bill.

    Red

    Plus one more from the same shoot that you may find amusing. Not terribly good as the tips of the right wing are missing.

    Red
    Last edited by Bobobird; 6th September 2011 at 06:42 AM.

  9. #9
    RockNGoalStar's Avatar
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    Re: Red

    Hey Bobo,

    I really like this. Lovely bird and beautifully captured. You have him so sharp!

    Personally though, I would just take some of the space from the left of your original and crop morelike this...

    Red

    This not only emphasises the bird more, but it also gives him some space in which to look into...

    I would probably prefer a little bit more space just above and to the right of the bird, but it depends if you have any room to play with on the right.

    Lovely shot though. Keep em coming

  10. #10

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    Re: Red

    All these suggestions have made for a much improved presentation - a wonderful bird to photograph. I'd even try to clone some,if not all, of the white on the board. I've seen only one of these birds, a glimpse really and that was at the back of a Super8 motel at Stirling,Texas.

  11. #11

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    Re: Red

    Thanks Tommy and John.

    Yes the "look into" was what prompted the wider first version. Will revert to that. Have already tried cloning out the white but ended up looking terrible. That is a really big piece of white for the clone brush to handle.

  12. #12
    FrankMi's Avatar
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    Re: Red

    Quote Originally Posted by Bobobird View Post
    Have already tried cloning out the white but ended up looking terrible. That is a really big piece of white for the clone brush to handle.
    In the original, the tail feathers, in particular, have a brownish hue that is causing them to become lost in the brown of the board. The second shot is much better but may need to go a bit further. On the board, you could try playing with lowering (and/or) the brightness, contrast, vibrancy, and applying a slight Gaussian blur. It may not matter too much how it is toned down, as long as it doesn't compete as much for attention with the subject. Hope this helps!

  13. #13

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    Re: Red

    Thanks Frank - have been working on it a bit since the last post hehe.
    Have done all that you have suggested but the cloning is really blotchy so have to redo.

    Maybe I should revert to the RAW and do everything over. Probably easier that way.

  14. #14

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    Re: Red

    Quote Originally Posted by Bobobird View Post
    Thanks everyone for taking the trouble to give some very constructive suggestions.

    Redone a bit based on your comments. Also lightened up the mouth area to show the tongue a bit more clearly and some missing detail on the neck below the bill.

    Red
    Bobo, I like this much better, but when push comes to shove I think I like Tommy's crop with a bit more space on the right. It just works better for this one because the bird is obviously looking at something over there, so a bit more space somehow or other gives the shot more meaning. Personal preference comes into play here of course, It's a great shot no matter how you crop it.


    Plus one more from the same shoot that you may find amusing. Not terribly good as the tips of the right wing are missing.

    Red
    Another fantastic shot regardles of the unfortunate chopping of the wingtips. You must have great reflexes.

    Wendy

  15. #15

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    Re: Red

    Quote Originally Posted by ScoutR View Post


    You must have great reflexes.

    Wendy
    Thanks. Pretty good when younger but now still having -some- reflexes is a bonus.

    But about that 2nd shot - when something is that close like 5-6 feet, there really was no point going in that tight. Hope will remember that in the future.

  16. #16
    Moderator Dave Humphries's Avatar
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    Re: Red

    Quote Originally Posted by Bobobird View Post
    Red
    Hi Bobo,

    The one above now looks over sharpened on the bird's feathers I'm afraid.
    Also, here, and in Tommy's rework of #1, I would clone out that split in the timber so that it just has flaking paint - I think it'll simplify the image.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bobobird View Post
    Plus one more from the same shoot that you may find amusing. Not terribly good as the tips of the right wing are missing.

    Red
    I agree, the missing wing tip feathers are pretty minor - a good 'action shot' I'd be pleased with.

    Cheers,

  17. #17

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    Re: Red

    Thanks Dave, appreciate the input.

    Am redoing the whole from scratch and hopefully all the great suggestions will be incorporated.

  18. #18

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    Re: Red

    Re-done from scratch. The warts are softer but still there. The bird's main tail feather is broken off so perhaps the imperfections will complement each other.

    Red

    Or maybe should have done just a head shot. Cheeky bugger doing a bleh looks cool I think.
    Red

    Thanks again to everyone for helping out. Learned a lot of pp'ing with this. Thank you.
    Last edited by Bobobird; 7th September 2011 at 09:07 PM.

  19. #19
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    Re: Red

    I am a newbie here and read the whole thread. I love the picture and what you did with it listening to suggestions. What kind of camera and lense did you use? How far away were you in taking this? You totally captured his little personality which I really love!

  20. #20

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    Re: Red

    Thanks Liz, glad you like it.

    CIC has helped me tremendously in the short time that I have been into photography.

    Camera is a Canon 550D (aka T2i). Lense is the Canon 70-300L. Distance was about 6 feet.

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