Keeping Company

I love that you have two males in this image - and the snow adds a lot of character. The reds look a little bright and there is a lot of noise in the background - which I'm guessing comes from an over-exposure and post processing trying to lighten things up (based on the techs you posted). Did you crop this image much?

The birds stand out in dramatic contrast to this setting Beth, really like the snow flakes falling through your frame.
One suggestion for improvement would be to selectively lighten the upper cards face just a bit?
Well done!

Lovely comp. I agree with the other comments. Hard to tell without a large version but the top bird appears to have some edge issues and both birds look to have lost some feather definition maybe due to over saturation of the red. Also an aperture of f8 or so might have gotten enough DOF where both birds would have been sharp, the upper cardinal appears to be somewhat soft. I really like how you were able to capture both these guys in completely different poses in the same frame.

I agree with the other comments; great composition, too saturated. I love how you have captured the motion of the snow. Just dial back the saturation in ACR and you have a winner. Great diagonal. Nice blur in the background.

Hi Luke: Thanks for your comments. The issues you spoke of did occur post processing and I did a significant crop on the image. I know often I should just leave well enough alone.

Nothing like cardinals to warm up a winter image! I like the overall scene very much. Maybe tone down the reds a bit, and possibly work to bring out the eyes in both birds. I've been trying very hard to catch a male and female in the same frame and in focus...not easy! Your comp and the position of the birds in the frame is very nice. Sharon

Nice composition, Beth. I'm not sure, but it looks like the Cardinals might be just a bit oversaturated. I like the snowflakes.