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VA State Bird
VA State Bird
MaryO


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Collection: 30 Days of Whatevers - December 2008
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Sigma 100-300mm F/4.0 EX IF HSM for Nikon
Location: Springfield, VA
Date: Dec 6, 2008
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/500
Galleries: Nature, Birds
Date Uploaded: Dec 6, 2008

Viewed: 516
Comments: 18
Favorites: 3 (view)

 Day 6 of Whatevers

A male Cardinal sitting in one of my trees. A bit overcast today but enough light on him (with some dodging assistance) to make this interesting. And see, I told you the birds are watching me!

PP - converted from RAW, cropped, 2nd layer (Gaussian blur, merged in multiply mode), dodged bird, cloned out bright branches, increased contrast, added border, resized, sharpened.

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AuthorThread
 12/15/2008 11:16:08 AM
Wow, he's pretty! You've done a great job of making him the focal point and subduing the background, and I like the faint hint of the background branch following the line of the bird. Beautiful!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/13/2008 08:15:37 PM
Although the subject is not in tack sharp detail the softness of the cardinal almost lends itself to soft brush strokes of a paintbrush. It also helps convey the feel of touch - that the feathers of this bird are silky soft. I love the bold soft reds that color the otherwise muted scene. It is the splash of red that automatically draws our eye. My only critique is that I wish that it was a tad brighter overall so that the back half of the bird is not so dark compared to the sunlight front.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/09/2008 11:39:45 PM
WOW! What a fantastic capture. I making this a favorite.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/09/2008 09:51:00 PM
Such a radiance on his left side there. I like how he almost seems like he was painted in oils.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/09/2008 01:33:47 PM
I love cardinals! They are such gorgeous birds with their pointy heads and red coloring! Nicely done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/08/2008 10:12:24 AM
Holy crap! I LOVE the light on this. Fan-frikkin-tastic!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/07/2008 09:41:33 PM
Truly lovely bird image - lovely POV.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 10:43:08 PM
That's a sweet shot. I think cardinals are one of the prettiest of the wild birds that we have here in Fl too. There is a family of them that comes to eat the feed that my parrots drop out of their yard cages. The BG in this shot is just perfect.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 10:03:42 PM
Cardinal, let me guess you must be form St Louis
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 09:37:00 PM
Wonderfull shot and processed. I love watching these guys in the winter.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 08:15:13 PM
I only saw these birds last year with images that Pat patio127 posted in one of the side challenges.
The softness of the image and the colours in the bird are amazing. It looks like it might be getting quite cold there the way his feathers are all fluffed up. Excellent DOF with the restricted light.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 03:02:36 PM
OMG I love this so much. The color and DOF. WOWZA - looks like something in an Audubon book. This is really spectacular.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 02:10:53 PM
They are such colourful birds! We dont have anything like that over here!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 02:10:45 PM
Oh so pretty. We don't have cardinals here, I wish we did, they are beautiful birds.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 12:43:46 PM
beautifully done :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 12:43:26 PM
Stunning , mary- I did not know the Cardinal was your state bird ! We have a few pairs in our woods this winter-beautiful birds & you did justice to this guy :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 12:02:13 PM
Beautiful bird! Great eye contact - he is watching you! Cardinals always remind me of Christmaas
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/06/2008 12:01:26 PM
Mary, this is gorgeous ... I love the dark, overcast tones with the highlight being right on the bird's head and chest ... the DOF is great too!
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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