Digital Manipulation Assignment

Male Downy Woodpecker

   For my Digital Manipulation assignment, I took pictures of different birds and either faded the background or faded the bird from the background. I got the idea from Charles Cohen who made white silhouettes of people by completely removing them from the backgrounds. I didn't want to completely white-out the birds because I didn't think they would be very distinguishable as birds and look more like white blobs. I also wanted to leave a little identity to the birds so viewers can see what kind of birds they are and really see their particular shape.

Male Northern Cardinal

   Being an environmentalist and bird enthusiast, I know quite a lot about birds. The first picture is a Downy Woodpecker. The slight red on the head indicates that it is a male. They are the smallest woodpeckers in North America ranging between 15 to 17cm long. The largest, the Pileated Woodpecker, ranges from 40 to 49cm.
   The next bird is a male Northern Cardinal. Females are a light brown color, with a touch of red on there head and wings, males are all red. They are very well known for their mow-hawk head and brilliant color. Cardinals are song birds which means they have more than one bird call, and usually like to make noise.

Mourning Dove

   The last picture is a Mourning Dove. A crazy fact a lot of people don't know is that when doves take-off, they make a whistling noise and most people think the dove is making the noise but actually it is the wind catching in their wings. They are very graceful and slender compared to other birds. I  have noticed that they like to perch on wires and fences in groups of two or more.

For more information of these and other birds, please visit www.allaboutbirds.org