The bright red plumage of the Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) reminded me today that Christmas is almost here. I guess it is such an obvious association that National Geographic featured the cardinal on the cover of its “Holiday” catalog. Cliché or not, I can’t help but smile whenever my eyes catch sight of a cardinal and somehow my spirits are lifted, particularly when the weather is gray and gloomy as it was early this morning.
Here are a couple of shots of the same cardinal that may appear to be identical. However, if you look closer, you will notice that the cardinal has his head turned in a slightly different direction. In the first one, the cardinal was looking right at me. There seems to be something more personal about our interaction when our eyes meet. He looks a little like he is growing weary of posing for me, but is patiently waiting for me to be finished.
In the second photo (which was actually shot before the first one), the cardinal is looking off into the distance, alone with his thoughts and not yet aware of the intruder with the camera. In some ways this photo seems to capture him in a more natural, unposed position.
At certain moments I like the second image more than the first, but most of the time I prefer to see eye-to-eye with a subject.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I agree, everytime I see a Cardinal, I feel like I’ve been given a tiny little gift 🙂
I like the “gotcha” of the first picture.
I like both photographs, in the second he does indeed appear to be alone in his thoughts. thank you for posting these, I can never see enough Cardinals.
Thanks. I’m glad you liked them. Sometimes it feels a little strange posting photos of such familiar subjects, but each situation, each photo is actually different.
Nice shot ! Congrats !
utham
Thanks. I am happy when I can manage to get a decent shot (I guess that makes me an amateur). I don’t need perfection to be satisfied.
:)!
Me too.
Satisfaction is in the efforts we put in.
It is the journey that matters.
Technical details and debates – let us leave them to experts. Let us enjoy the photography !
Thank you , Mike.
utham
I definitely detect a little attitude in the first one
I see attitude in the first one and ennui in the second one (I obviously spent too much time in college reading French existentialist writers for a word like “ennui” to slip into an everyday conversation).
What a beautiful bird-I never see them in nature.
[…] female counterparts. In fact, last week a male cardinal was the star of my blog entry entitled Cardinal Directions. The male cardinal is so bright and conspicuous that he is hard to miss, like a song played with […]
Very nice Mike, I would love to be able to step out my door and photograph these birds, a beautiful bird, well done.
Thanks. It’s not exactly right outside my door, but it’s less 8 kilometers from where I live.