Cardinal in the Cold

[pdmilesjr]

http://paulmiles.smugmug.com/Nature/Cardinals/i-39FHtkR/0/XL/Male-Cardinal-Springrun-XL.jpg

[OJS]

I love your bird photos, and presentation. I hope you are making note cards and wildlife calendars with them. ;-)

[pdmilesjr]

Thanks, Orv. I'm at the limit for what my Scion XB will hold on the way to my shows, so I don't include note cards or calendars. It's a good idea, though.

[LynnP]

On my screen your inside frame line measures 5 3/4 x 9". The cardinal's head is soft. I believe that is due to you shooting through the window. Many of your recent photos have suffered the same malady. Aside from that your captures of the birds has been perfect. I would like you to clean both sides of the window, put a rubber lens hood on the lens and have the hood touching the glass. This will eliminate some of the problem. You may be using too large of a f stop also because the shoulder part of the wing is sharper than the head. The only other thing that could be causing it is that you are using a 3-300mm lens (exageration is on purpose) shooting wide open. Super zooms are not ideal for birds especially wide open.

I know that you have been told this many times but your double frame deters from viewing enjoyment.


lrp

[Sharna]

I agree with Lynn here. :D

Nice shot though, I do love the colors. Focus needs to be on the eye/eyes though. ;)

[pdmilesjr]

Actually, I was sitting outside when I took this picture at 500mm. I shot it at f/8 rather than f/6.3 (wide open). The softness of the light, I believe, is the prime contirbutor to the softness.

[pdmilesjr]

On my screen your inside frame line measures 5 3/4 x 9". The cardinal's head is soft. I believe that is due to you shooting through the window. Many of your recent photos have suffered the same malady. Aside from that your captures of the birds has been perfect. I would like you to clean both sides of the window, put a rubber lens hood on the lens and have the hood touching the glass. This will eliminate some of the problem. You may be using too large of a f stop also because the shoulder part of the wing is sharper than the head. The only other thing that could be causing it is that you are using a 3-300mm lens (exageration is on purpose) shooting wide open. Super zooms are not ideal for birds especially wide open.

I know that you have been told this many times but your double frame deters from viewing enjoyment.

I don't really want to be bullheaded about the frames but I sold ~370 prints last year, all with borders. Since this is the way I print them, I prefer not to have different versions on my computer.


lrp
I don't really want to be bullheaded about the frames but I sold ~370 prints last year, all with borders. Since this is the way I print them, I prefer not to have different versions on my computer.

[LynnP]

Soft light does not make blurred photos. If you are using an UV filter take it off or check for smears on it and clean it. If it is a $1.00 $2.95 filter throw it away and get a decent one. I know that you usually use a tipod, was it used for this shot?

[pdmilesjr]

I don't us a filter, Lynn. I don't use a tripod either. I use a Bush Hawk Shoulder Mount which makes the camera and lens look a little like a rocket launcher. My shutter speed was 1/350 which is usually fast enough with the shoulder mount. The ISO was 1250 which results in less resolution. In sunlight my ISO would be under 400. I also used a gray fill layer and a mask, which is why parts of the background look blurred. If I could afford a $7000 lens I'm sure the results would have been sharper. I welcome your critique, but, for the time being, I think I'm doing the best I can. I have hundreds of cardinal shots on my website, so if this one doesn't measure up, it's no great loss.