I have been trying to get a picture of a cardinal for 2 years now. at last... i upload the image without postwork except to resize and sharpen. do ya'all see any haloing? i'm not good at spotting that. i know this isn't that great of a pic, but i'm happy. i did my best. any ideas or suggestions? would ya'all crop it? thanks for the feedback and for sharing my joy!!!! today was a good day!!! :)

Sheila. How lucky are you........Nice shot. I think a tight portrait crop and remove the small twig above the head and the small twig to the right. May I downlaod the image and play? Steve

Thanks! That's was i was thinking too...a tight crop...but i wasn't sure. play all you want, Steve!!! you and everyone else are always welcome to download!!!

Shelia. Here's my atempt, done in minutes just before I go of to work. The twig removal is not perfect, but to show the affect of the removal. I think the original twigs distract the viewer from the Cardinal. Have a ggod day. Keep cooking that seafood........

Message edited on: 02/24/2005 01:42

Only Shelia will understand this....Steve Might start a series of Fred and his bruvs and sisters in there life of growth, dunno!!

Pat, thanks so much!!!!!! I think he's a beauty too! :) I was beginning to think i'd NEVER capture one of these guys! Wow, you did that fast, Steve! Yeah, that's awesome! i like how you cropped it and got rid of the twigs. I think the crop makes you zing in straight to the bird and not to all those branches. i'll play with this one tomorrow i think! You both have a fantastic day! Steve, you hatch 'em; i'll cook 'em! :)

We crossed...that's too kewl, Steve! Yeah, you definitely should do a series to show their growth!!! which one's Fred?? LOL! you gonna tell everybody what they are??? i won't give it away in case you want to let them guess!! i'm totally shocked about the color!!!!! i figured they'd just be translucent with little color to them at all. Amazing. Yeah, i think you GOT to make a series of this!!!! i'm sure it hasn't been done before!! thanks so much for showing!!!! p.s. the others are Wilma, Barney, and Betty, right??? LOL!

Thats awesome Sheila.

Hey Sheila! Great capture! Guess you can say ya have some "cardinal Knowledge" now! (LOL) I think the crop Steve did really adds the focus/emphasis on the cardinal. Brings ya upclose and personal with the cardinal. But (yeah another one) (IMO) I think the original is a keeper! You have the bird surrounded by all the CHAOS of those branches. It just stands out and makes such a BOLD statement. Contrasting the beautiful RED coloring against the background! Joe

That's an excellent capture.. Sheila... :0

If I may offer _my_ crop... :-) Incorporated the suggestion about removing the twig.

Message edited on: 02/24/2005 07:35

-- erlik

Nice catch, Sheila! I actually like the original as there is such a nice contrast between the red and the dull-colored background. Hope you've sprinkled some sunflower seeds around to keep this guy nearby.

Nice capture, I have been trying for the last month to capture a photo of a cardinal. I have had some success, but none that I am really happy about. Here is my best attempt, shot earlier this week.

Thanks so much everyone!!! Now i'm gonna have a hard time deciding what to do with this image!!!!

I also love the original because it shows him like in a jungle of branches, but then i like the cropped ones too because it puts the focus more on him.

Erlik, yours might be a nice compromise. Your crop does still make you zing in on the bird, but at the same time, it shows a bit of the chaos and contrast as joe and misha were talking about. Thanks for doing that. i will need some time i think to decide on this one.

LOL Misha about the sunflower seeds!! I wish!!! kemal and i found this guy at the zoo though. we were walkin' and suddenly i spotted him almost in front of me. i stopped dead in my tracks and kemal knew i spotted something. we were both making adjustments on our cams as fast as we could. i figured for sure that guy would have flown away, but i actually was able to get in about 6 shots before he did. This is the first shot i took.

randy, yours looks grrrrreat! you really got in close! i don't know why you're not happy with this one...he looks so cute!!!! what's that grey stuff on his feathers? i noticed the same on my guy. and kemal took one picture of him that really shows it. ya think they were just taking a dust bath or something?

Message edited on: 02/24/2005 11:59

You're welcome. That was my intention - he does look well portrayed on UKmac's crop, but I also wanted to have more interaction with the jumble of branches and twigs around him. And that hole among the branches just to the right of him gives more depth to the pic, IMO. Plus I intentionally put him in the classical golden cut composition. :-) You'll have to be quite careful with cloning. You can see the repetition on the branch just above his head and on the right edge of the hole. Photographing animals is such a demanding task, but it's so good when you succeed. :-)

-- erlik

Your shot is amazing, Sheila! Wowow! You lucky lucky girl! It's really beautiful. About correcting. Well, lighting etc. will be clear for you; I did do only a little to it. My uncle (was photographer for 40 years before he retired and made about one million shots in his entire professional life) taught me some principles about nature photography. He taught me to put animals on strong points (it's not a must, but it's not ... unwise) and to let the animal look inside the field of the picture. That's better than look outside (in general). Well, I applied that here and look what I've got for you, just a rough example. Hope you like it :)

yeah, Erlik, that cloning's gonna be a bit tricky, but i think i can do it. What's "classical golden cut composition"? thanks for your help advice! :) jc... didn't realize that about your uncle. so you're saying it's better to have the bird have more space where it's lookin' at? sorry, i was just a bit confused about what you were saying. not sure if i was following you. I'm feeling pretty sick right now. i do like this, jan-carel, and i appreciate you taking the time to do it!!! you give me another excellent choice! I'm still not sure what i will end up doing with this one since i love them all! it will be hard to decide! Thanks guys! :) Ya'all are the ones with cardinal knowledge! LOL!

Actually, that's what jc calls "strong points". And I mistranslated - it's golden section (or golden rule), not golden cut.

For those who don't know:

http://photoinf.com/Golden_Mean/Eugene_Ilchenko/GoldenSection.html

http://www.megapixel.net/html/articles/composition.html

http://www.apogeephoto.com/mag1-6/mag2-3mf.shtml

-- erlik

oh, ok...thanks so much for explaining, Erlik!! and those articles were great too! i read them all & saved them. maybe i need to give more thought to this golden rule when i'm shooting. it's not something i consciously think about, but then perhaps maybe it's not something conscious others think about either. mostly, i just feel my away around, and my composition is based on what is pleasing to MY eyes. i think perhaps i should pay attention and see if my images are composed using that rule of 3rds or golden rule...just try to make a more conscious effort to consider that when i'm shooting. thanks so much again, Erlik for those links and for all your help!!! :)

just wanted to give you my cheers for catching this card! :] & played a little too...

p.s. i like the tree limb there...
notice the natural tic-tac-toe framing the bird! & follow the tree limbs to the corners of the frame on the diagonals also lightened & upped the contrast, & removed what looked like a reflection to my right of the bird :]

Message edited on: 02/26/2005 04:40

clapping hmmmm....in this one, you've included the chaos of the branches, and you've kept that hold behind the bird to show some depth, and the animal is looking inside the field of the picture as jan-carel suggested. and yes, now that you've pointed out those diagonals, i see it! yes, i see that natural tic-tac-toe framing the bird. i'll have to take some time to look at this one more... the lighting and contrast work you did was perfect. can you circle the reflection that you saw to the right of the bird, cindy? i'm not seeing it. i really luv the crop in this one. kemal says it's his fav. too. and framing is perfect. i have a feeling i will go this way on crop. Thanks sooooooo much, girl!!!!! i luv it!!!!

ok... here's the glare i was seeing... & i picked that framing to emphasize the long crop glad you like it & you're welcome! still a matter of personal taste i guess :] *hugz*

very observant, Cindy!!!!! thanks! did you just clone it out? hugz back to ya girl!

yes :]