Took these this morning. Hope you like them. I think I'm getting how to use this camera now.

Red Bellied Woodpecker


Female Cardinal (couldn't get her to go to tree)


And her mate.


And I thought I would try just for his head:

[xs400]

Those are nice birdies. I really have to get a bird feeder. Then I too might get such nice pics.

[Gaelen]

They seem a bit dull Have you tried playing with the contrast a bit?

#1 is my favorite

[photolady95]

Thanks Frank. Yes, a feeder helps. I feed them because I can get shots like this, but also in the winter there isn't much food around for them. And I enjoy just watching them too.

Gaelen, thanks for the comments. I used a bit of in-camera contrast. Just to see what it would do.

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Last edited by photolady95; 02-13-2010 at 09:19 PM.

[photolady95]

I just tried to add more contrast but it blows out the red in the male cardinal. What is the best amount to add without causing a red blob?

[xs400]

I just tried to add more contrast but it blows out the red in the male cardinal. What is the best amount to add without causing a red blob?

Instead of adjusting contrast, you should try adjusting the Levels. If you have PS or PS Elements try Auto Levels. Or adjust the levels yourself. I find Levels to be one of the most useful adjustments.

Check out the following: http://www.tutorio.com/tutorial/use-photoshop-levels-to-fix-images and http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/photoshop-levels-1-2-3.html

[photolady95]

Thanks Frank. I read the article then did a bit of playing around with the full cardinal. How's this look:

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Last edited by photolady95; 02-14-2010 at 09:33 PM.

[xs400]

I think that looks much better. The red is definitely brighter. Very nice.

[photolady95]

And those instructions made it easy to do. I never liked trying to add contrast throught Brightness/contrast sliders, as I said it made the red blown out. This makes it just right. Thanks again.

I did try to give the female a bit of pop but it didn't look good when I finished. I'll play with some tomorrow.

[PentX Girl]

Nice birdies by a nice lady who feeds them I know how difficult it is to take bird photos and especially when the background is nothing but sky

[Sailor]

Great shots, PL - I wish I could catch a woodpecker, but it seems beyond my ken .

The PP on the cardinal reall worked well (Frank knows his business). I gather you're shooting in JPEG? If you haven't done so already, you might try RAW - which I find easier to manipulate effectively than JPEG images. Once I tried RAW, I never went back . . . but it is more effort at the computer.

Jer

[photolady95]

Thanks Jan, for the compliment.

Thanks Jer. I thought you had the 55-300mm? Oh maybe, birds like these don't come to Texas? LOL

Yes, I'm shooting JPEG. At first I didn't have a program that read RAW files. Now I do, after I upgrade my PSE.

Is there any difference in how the photo looks in RAW vs JPEG?

I always hated JPEG because of the lossless nature.

[Sailor]

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Thanks Jer. I thought you had the 55-300mm? Oh maybe, birds like these don't come to Texas? LOL

I've got the lens, PL, but sadly lack the talent.

Regarding RAW - there are folks on the forum that - quite literally - have forgotten more about PP than I'll ever know, but what I do is:

1) Adjust - if necessary - white balance, exposure and contrast in RAW.

2) Convert the RAW file either to TIFF for printing or JPEG for posting or emailing.

3) For posting, I straighten, crop and tweak exposure/contrast of the the JPEG file.

4) Resize the JPEG for posting and then sharpen - I don't know much but I do know from experience ya gotta sharpen images taken in RAW.

Sounds like a pain, but you can do it in short order. Others here can do truly marvelous things with PP, but those adjustments (like catching woodpeckers) are beyond my ken.

Jer

[photolady95]

but sadly lack the talent.

I highly doubt that Jer. I've seen your talent.

In adjusting as in #1, is that in camera? I have not played with any of the controls except the one mention of contrast adjustment. Which didn't seem to help any.

I'll copy your instructions, if you don't mind, and apply myself to them.

I tried shooting RAW today, but because my hands were shakier than usual, everything I shot came out, out of focus. No I was not using a tripod, which with my shaky hands, doesn't help anyway.

And I found out RAW uses more battery juice, batteries went dead during a shot at the cardinal. Rummaged around for more but couldn't find my other set I had. Must have loaned them out to some family member who needed them.

Thanks for the, how you do it instructions, Jer