Cardinal +Repost

Gallery: AvianPosted July 30, 201063 views11 comments

Immature Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

This immature cardinal seemed very curious about me and perched quite close. I don’t know why he’s all fluffed up. Seems like I’ve been photographing many fluffed up birds lately.

I like this image because it has plenty of detail. The light was right and it’s quite a large image (15.4 MP) (i.e. only a very slight crop).

All comments very welcome.

7D, 400mm f/5.6: ISO 500, 1/1000 s, f/7.1, NR to the background, slight exposure adjustment, Sharpening)

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on July 31, 2010 at 2:15 AM

A "bad hair day" for sure!
Fine detail in the feathers, seen well in the larger version, and the "curious" expression is great. .
All the leaves are a bit distracting, but it would be tough to clone most out. I might try to get rid of those around the bird, though.
Sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on July 31, 2010 at 7:28 AM

Steve, I like seeing all the layers of plumage detail with the bird fluffed up like this. Nice light on the cardinal and the setting works just fine for me as is

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on July 31, 2010 at 8:55 AM

Steve, you've got great details and a cool fluffy pose. nice setting all around too. maybe take a little off the bottom?

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on July 31, 2010 at 8:56 AM

Nice, Steve. Love to see the new plumage coming in on this young bird. Not all birds look pristine all the time and it is nice to see images of the less than perfect looking specimens. Love the habitat.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on July 31, 2010 at 11:10 AM

Very nice image quality especially in the larger version. I like the leaves and colors of the setting and see no problem there. I like Brian's suggestion to trim the bottom a little.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on July 31, 2010 at 3:39 PM

Thank you so much everyone for your comments and suggestions. In this repost I cut a little off the bottom as Brian suggested. However, although I can see how some of the leaves are a bit distracting as Sandy mentioned, I decided to leave them be in this case, particularly because the most distracting one actually intersects the bird....and I rather like them too! Anyway, I do think the repost is an improvement!

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on July 31, 2010 at 6:24 PM

Steve,

I prefer the repost with the cropping you did on the bottom.

Her pose, the fluffed up feathers and raised crest make this shot for me. I grinned as soon as the image opened in my browser. I love the tones of the background and how the greens compliment the bird's coloration. I think the leaves look fine, I like how the varying degrees of focus on them gives depth to the background.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 31, 2010 at 7:29 PM

Nice, Steve. I agree the repost works better. The leaves don't bother me a bit. There's plenty of tonal difference between them and the subject so it still stands out.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on July 31, 2010 at 10:48 PM

Thank you all for the additional comments. Mia, you imply that this is an immature female. I wonder what an immature male looks like? I do see traces of red in the breast feathers. Rich, you’re stating two things (1) the bird is molting and (2) the fluffed-up appearance is due to molting. I agree with (1), molting is replacing the immature feathers. However, I’m not so sure about (2). I do have images of this bird in an unfluffed state taken just moments before. Interesting!

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Schwarz on August 2, 2010 at 11:30 AM

Nice shot.

Registered on November 29, 2006, 236 Posts, 1210 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on August 2, 2010 at 3:03 PM

Steve, I like the repost. the leaves don't bother me at all. they provide depth and habitat, and I do not see them as distracting.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments