Jody Coker
March 2023 - Cedar Waxwing
Original
About the Image(s)
Came up on a flock of Cedar waxwings feeding in a hackberry tree earlier this month. These birds are always fun to watch. Caught this one going after s sweet berry
Canon R6 with Sigma 500 & 1.4 converter. f5.6 @ 1/250 gave me an iso of 250. Tightly cropped and minor adjustments .
11 comments posted
Nice sharp image and capture with the bird about to grab a berry. The only thing I might suggest is to remove the leaf near the bottom berry. Posted: 03/04/2023 17:54:27
I don't remember giving that much thought. So I just tried it, seemed to leave a gap that felt off, so I cloned a berry to the end of the twig, LOL Posted: 03/04/2023 18:41:53
I like the cloned berry. It seems to give a leading line to the beak and form a triangle with the bird's underside. Posted: 03/05/2023 15:14:01
Nice sharp capture of a beautiful bird with interesting activity The background is pleasingly creamy and sets off the bird
I agree with Bill's suggestion to remove the dead leaf I like that you replaced it with a cloned berry I have been debating whether you should remove the berry above the bird I think yes remove that berry and its twig back to the branch it comes off
I was lucky enough to see an irruption of Cedar Waxwings in a park just east of my home about 1987 when I had just started birding but before I started my photography journey The trees were full of Cedar Waxwings I have never seen any Cedar Waxwings around here since then! So seeing your bird was a treat Posted: 03/08/2023 15:03:58
I agree with Bill's suggestion to remove the dead leaf I like that you replaced it with a cloned berry I have been debating whether you should remove the berry above the bird I think yes remove that berry and its twig back to the branch it comes off
I was lucky enough to see an irruption of Cedar Waxwings in a park just east of my home about 1987 when I had just started birding but before I started my photography journey The trees were full of Cedar Waxwings I have never seen any Cedar Waxwings around here since then! So seeing your bird was a treat Posted: 03/08/2023 15:03:58
I would suggest to blur branches behind. Posted: 03/08/2023 16:25:47
I think you also lost some pixels by cropping so much, such that detail has been lost in the feathers. Regardless, I love this image. The position of the bird, catchlight in the eye, beak open ready to snatch the berry. It all works great. The background is perfect. I agree with the replacement of the berry for the leaf. I've only seen a couple of these in my life. Posted: 03/09/2023 13:47:21
Unfortunately I haven't quite figured out how to keep all of the fine details when I resize to meet the posting criteria 😢 Also if I remember right the light was soft that day, fairly bright but overcast. Posted: 03/09/2023 16:21:17
I'm not sure if gigapixel would work in this situation?
Posted: 03/09/2023 17:55:41
Posted: 03/09/2023 17:55:41
This is certainly a competition grade photo in my view. The colors are striking and your decisions regarding the berry were spot on! I agree with the suggestions of others to remove the leaf at the bottom of the branch. I would leave the other branches at the top as they seem to add some balance to the upper part of the photo and were not distracting, to me at least. Posted: 03/09/2023 13:54:48
I did enter this in our little monthly photo judging. Managed to get a 14.5 for it. Maybe if I had fixed the berry it would have been a 15 😂 Posted: 03/09/2023 16:25:46
The picture is definitely sharp. Even the branches are sharp.
Well done. Posted: 03/11/2023 06:24:06
Well done. Posted: 03/11/2023 06:24:06