Cedar Waxwing

Gallery: AvianPosted July 23, 201093 views8 comments

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

I finally found a tree without leaves where cedar waxwings like to perch. At least they like to until I show up… Judging by the size of the branch he’s carrying, this fellow looks like he’s building a really seriously well-constructed nest.

This image was underexposed in the variable, cloudy, early morning light. So, selective NR was a necessity after I increased exposure in post processing. Also, for an interesting composition, I decided on a larger crop than usual: I used 5 MP of the 18 MP provided by the 7D. [I find myself more open to larger crops these days. There is a cost in image quality, of course. However, often I can't perceive it. In this image for example, I think noise level was much more of a threat to image quality than was crop size. However, I'm always interested to know if you do attribute an image defect to crop size and not noise or NR. There is a large payoff in being able to use large crops if the quality survives. Also, I've decided, in future to quote crop as I've done here rather than as a percentage. To interpret percentage correctly you need to convert it to MP anyway by knowing the image size of the particular camera.]

All comments very welcome as usual.

7D, 400 mm f/5.6, monopod: 1/640 s, f/5.6, ISO 500. NR, sharpening, exposure adjustment.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on July 23, 2010 at 6:37 PM

Steve, I like the pose with the head turned a little away but still with a good view of the eye - an interesting change of pace. The nesting material is a nice bonus and I like your composition. I do find the noise in the larger image quite noticeable though.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 23, 2010 at 6:39 PM

Nice job on the recovery, Steve. I do see some loss of detail in the plumage, which is always difficult for this species to start with. Personally, I suspect it's noise reduction or the initial focus. With the 7D, if I nail the focus, I can crop to under 4MP without significant loss of detail at either size posted here. Oh, a really cool image, too.

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

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on July 23, 2010 at 9:56 PM

Nice shot Steve. Very cool pose and I like the perch. The twig adds a nice element to the overall comp-ditto Ron and Dennis' comments.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on July 23, 2010 at 10:40 PM

Good composition, Steve. Not sure how you applied your NR or with what software but I wonder if you couldn't apply a little less NR. I think your results might be better and look a little less artificial. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the 7D noise levels.

Cheers,

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on July 24, 2010 at 12:50 AM

A lovely pose. The nest material adds a lot. I'm unsure if it is the crop or what, but the chest doesn't look right. I'm not good enough to really even be very specific about why. The silky feathers are famously hard to photograph, but they look artificially "clumpy" to me here. Wish I could be clearer...

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on July 24, 2010 at 7:05 AM

Steve,

I like the pose, the branch in the bill of the bird, the head turn with the good look at the eye, comp and the soft natural colors. I see that you applied some selective NR but I would apply a bit more to the background if this were mine.

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on July 25, 2010 at 10:59 AM

Thank you all for your very helpful comments. Looks like I couldn’t quite rescue this underexposed shot. It is tantalizing because this image has so many positive aspects. However, the combination of noise, silky feather structure, selective noise reduction software limitations (including my limited ability to apply the software!) and the large crop which magnifies the image characteristics, create some noticeable quality deficiencies. To be continued.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 25, 2010 at 8:30 PM

It looks pretty good to me Steve, I've never seen a waxwing with a twig in the beak like this. There's some bg noise but not enough to ruin the image.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments