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Northern Cardinal (HI)
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Northern Cardinal (HI)

by KC Choo

Gallery: AvianPosted November 19, 2009269 views18 comments
Here's a bird that I was desperately trying to get in South Texas this past April with Charles van Tassel - never got a good enough shot. Well, my first day here on the Big Island of Hawaii and this "import" suddenly popped up together with Japanese White-eyes and Yellow-billed Cardinals. I never knew they were here. It must have been a bird-wave as I've not seen anything at this tree since!

5D2, 300mm f2.8 + 2.0X, ISO800, handheld braced against wall, no flash, afternoon shaded light.

Thanks for looking; your comments most welcomed.

Comments

18 comments
Comment posted by Nate Chappell on November 19, 2009 at 1:08 PM
The reds look great here Kwan, nice inquisitive pose too :toast:
Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments
Comment posted by Greg Cope on November 19, 2009 at 1:47 PM
Fantastic show all around KC. I love the brighness of the reds around the head. They surprised me the first time on saw them on Hawaii as well.
Registered on January 22, 2007, 212 Posts, 2737 Comments
Comment posted by Subharghya Das on November 19, 2009 at 2:01 PM
A Cardinal with full grandeur !! Xcellent details and beautiful feather colors .. I liked it ... a small nit to me is that oof branch on the left edge of the frame which could be cropped ! But it's a minor issue !
Registered on March 18, 2009, 26 Posts, 195 Comments
Comment posted by John Kerr on November 19, 2009 at 2:11 PM
Nice clear image. Great detail in the feathers and I like the way the perch frames to bottom of the photo. I might try to crop the LHS just a bit to eliminate the OOF branch. The green BG really goes well with this red Cardinal. Great job. :toast:
Registered on October 28, 2009, 111 Posts, 1070 Comments
Comment posted by May Haga on November 19, 2009 at 3:25 PM
Sounds like you had a great day with rarities. This is an excellent capture. Nice handling of the reds.

May
Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments
Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on November 19, 2009 at 3:53 PM
Just super KC. The colors look right on the mark and the sharpness is excellent. Great BG and comp. Well done sir.
Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments
Comment posted by Roger Leekam on November 19, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Lovely image with excellent color and sharpness. Great background. I might consider either cropping or cloning the vertical branch on left.
Registered on May 28, 2009, 83 Posts, 646 Comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 19, 2009 at 4:21 PM
Beautiful soft light on this cardinal, KC. :toast:
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on November 19, 2009 at 6:18 PM
That's the trick, Kwan. You need to get them on an island where they can't escape. Texas was just too big of a place for you. :smile: Nice to see that you were able to add this one to your collection finally, and I have to say that these Hawaiian Cardinals look a lot happier than those Texas cousins. This one definitely is smiling for you :toast: :toast:
Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments
Comment posted by Ron Dudley on November 19, 2009 at 8:07 PM
A beauty KC. Love the pose and the reds look very good. I also like that the curved perch is pretty sharp throughout most of it's convoluted length. The OOF branch might not be perfectly ideal with such an otherwise clean background but it's no big deal either and my preference would be to leave it in rather than to change this nice comp with a crop or attempting to clone it out.
Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments
Comment posted by Carrie O'Brien-Sib on November 19, 2009 at 8:44 PM
Fantastic image, KC. It's one of the best Cardinal photos I've ever seen. :toast: :toast: :toast:
Registered on August 4, 2009, 149 Posts, 889 Comments
Comment posted by Jake Dingel on November 19, 2009 at 9:15 PM
super shot......
Registered on April 24, 2006, 34 Posts, 633 Comments
Comment posted by John Tobias on November 19, 2009 at 9:57 PM
Great cardinal shot! Very nice color.
Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments
Comment posted by Michael Twaddell on November 19, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Beautiful image, KC. I couldn't believe it either! Hawaii of all places?
Registered on August 16, 2007, 199 Posts, 2132 Comments
Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on November 20, 2009 at 8:24 AM
Hello KC,
Very nice eye contact. I find the oof branch on the left helps the overall composition. Excellent color rendition as well!
I had no idea they are on the big Island.
Thanks for sharing one of the best Cardinal shots I've ever seen!
Neil
Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments
Comment posted by Dan Harbour on November 20, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Impressive color and detail in the reds, KC. Great pose and background. This is a winner.
Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments
Comment posted by Mia McPherson on November 21, 2009 at 1:22 PM
Wonderful find & great shot KC, love the rich reds, pose, perch and light.

Excellent techs as usual, very well done.
Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments
Comment posted by Rob Drummond on November 22, 2009 at 5:56 AM
Love the perky attitude KC - the green background really sets off the reds.

cheers
Rob
Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments