Pelican shots....for C&C please

[IzzieK]

1.



2.



3.


4.



5. An odd one...not a pelican...


but I surely enjoy its antics a while before so I shoot this solo portrait while I wait for the next load of antics...which I will upload later on ... when I finished doing the pp sequence...

Please C&C...I appreciate the learning experience. I think my pp on these pelican really sucks but I am posting it anyway so I can improve some more...it's my camera's fault.

OH btw, can someone tell me what that outgrowth is on the pelicans' bill??? Thanks again...

[Geoff F]

Rather harsh light there, Izzie, but you can't do anything about the shooting conditions.

However, did your processing help to tone down the high contrast (particularly highlights) or make things worse? I can't say without seeing a straight from camera example.

A bit of subject movement with #3, but once again not your fault.

Good compositions

[JohnRostron]

+1 to Geoff's comments. I do like the composition in #1. It looks almost like a family gathering. The Egret in #5 looks particularly elegant.

The outgrowth on the Pelican's bill is ... An outgrowth on its bill. Closely related species often have distinctive features by which they differ. This might be one such feature. On the other hand it might have an aerodynamic advantage. That should appeal to you Izzie!

John

[Brownbear]

Hi Izzie,

You're showing nice progress. I think #3 is a lovely image for the composition, sharp focus on the Pelican's eye, and the lovely feather detail. And no clipped highlights (that I can see) I also like the green foliage in the background, very pretty! I can't believe that you managed such great focus on the eye at 1/40 sec at a focal length of 86 mm, if hand held... However, I like the motion blur in the birds beak (artsy). I do wonder if in PP if you lowered the highlight a bit much as the Pelican looks a wee bit more grey than white to my eyes?


I like the simplicity of #2 and #4, nicely framed but the lighting is harsh. Perhaps a polarizer would come in handy in mid-day sun? #5 is an Egret in what appears to be beautiful breeding plumage. Lovely pose and great capture considering the lighting conditions.

All that said, #3 is my all time favourite bird image of yours. Nicely, captured!

[Shadowman]

Nice series, I really like the first capture, the birds really seem to pop off the screen.

[Barbara Ponder]

I will answer the outgrowth question for now and then come back and CC. In American white pelicans (not sure the species on your zoo ones) they grow these when they reach maturity and it is part of their breeding plumage. It sheds once breeding is over.

[Barbara Ponder]

+1 to Christina's comments and I will add that again I think shutter speed was your enemy. I am still trying to figure out why the colors seem, odd, for lack of a better term. Lots of yellow where to me green and or blue should be. I 've never experienced this in my shots so I have no idea how to resolve it. Wish I had more wisdom to impart but unfortunately I don't. You are headed in the right direction just keep at it!

I would love to see your airplane photos as I have not ever seen them.

[george013]

+1 to Christina's comments and I will add that again I think shutter speed was your enemy. I am still trying to figure out why the colors seem, odd, for lack of a better term. Lots of yellow where to me green and or blue should be. I 've never experienced this in my shots so I have no idea how to resolve it. Wish I had more wisdom to impart but unfortunately I don't. You are headed in the right direction just keep at it!

I would love to see your airplane photos as I have not ever seen them.

Overexposed. The histogram normally shows the exposure for the grayscale or luminance. You can also check for the individual colors. I checked the histogram using IrfanView for clipping: gray 5.0%, Red 10.4%, Green 9.5% and Blue 10.1%.

George

[george013]

Here is an example of how the colors are changing when one canal is clipping. Especial when one of the maincolors is dominant.



George

[JohnRostron]

I will answer the outgrowth question for now and then come back and CC. In American white pelicans (not sure the species on your zoo ones) they grow these when they reach maturity and it is part of their breeding plumage. It sheds once breeding is over.

This confirms what I suggested earlier. I thought at first that the growth was a secondary sexual feature, but I now believe it occurs in both sexes. My suggestion is that evolved some time in the past as a feature to allow this species to distinguish itself from other, similar species, which is why it only appears in the breeding season. The American White Pelican is the only pelican species (out of eight) to show this feature.

I suggested the possibility of an aerodynamic function because some pterosaurs also had a similar growth on their 'beaks'.

John

[IzzieK]

Rather harsh light there, Izzie, but you can't do anything about the shooting conditions.

However, did your processing help to tone down the high contrast (particularly highlights) or make things worse? I can't say without seeing a straight from camera example.

A bit of subject movement with #3, but once again not your fault.

Good compositions

Geoff, thank you for commenting and the feedback...the only shot that I edited here for overexposure parts on the neck and the shoulders used the healing brush while zooming in as close as I can...you taught me that on flowers if you remember. You said then that if I study "how the texture of the petals flow then you know how you can pp this." Well, I stuck that in my coconut to remember and once in a while like this occasion it floats out of my ears to remind me that I have to do it that way ...

[IzzieK]

I appreciate the feedback, John...it helps me and encourage me to shoot some more. I value your comments very much...the Egret shot is my favourite because I like the lace like feathers as it moves up and down...

+1 to Geoff's comments. I do like the composition in #1. It looks almost like a family gathering. The Egret in #5 looks particularly elegant.

The outgrowth on the Pelican's bill is ... An outgrowth on its bill. Closely related species often have distinctive features by which they differ. This might be one such feature. On the other hand it might have an aerodynamic advantage. That should appeal to you Izzie!

John

aerodynamic, my foot!

Thanks also for the morning laughs...

[IzzieK]

Hi Izzie,

You're showing nice progress. I think #3 is a lovely image for the composition, sharp focus on the Pelican's eye, and the lovely feather detail. And no clipped highlights (that I can see) I also like the green foliage in the background, very pretty! I can't believe that you managed such great focus on the eye at 1/40 sec at a focal length of 86 mm, if hand held... However, I like the motion blur in the birds beak (artsy). I do wonder if in PP if you lowered the highlight a bit much as the Pelican looks a wee bit more grey than white to my eyes?

I was positioned on a very far quiet corner of a fence hiding behind an overgrowth of bush just a bit from one of the restaurants there so I had the fence to lean on, adjust my camera's settings and shot in sequence adjust my settings as the light above changes.

I like the simplicity of #2 and #4, nicely framed but the lighting is harsh. Perhaps a polarizer would come in handy in mid-day sun? #5 is an Egret in what appears to be beautiful breeding plumage. Lovely pose and great capture considering the lighting conditions.

All that said, #3 is my all time favourite bird image of yours. Nicely, captured!

Thanks for the feedback and for the creeping improvements on my birdie shots...very encouraging...My lens is still fairly new so I will embark on a polarizer for three new lens that I recently acquired. I am good with a circular ones and an ND but not on other sorts. I lots of them from my old film days...

I cannot say thank you enough for commenting on my shots...it means a lot to me...

[IzzieK]

+1 to Christina's comments and I will add that again I think shutter speed was your enemy. I am still trying to figure out why the colors seem, odd, for lack of a better term. Lots of yellow where to me green and or blue should be. I 've never experienced this in my shots so I have no idea how to resolve it. Wish I had more wisdom to impart but unfortunately I don't. You are headed in the right direction just keep at it!

I would love to see your airplane photos as I have not ever seen them.

Thank you for your comments...and the added info about the outgrowth on the beaks of the pelicans too on a separate post response...I appreciate anything that I can leech out of you and Christina and the vibrancy of this post. I feel awaken by the nice responses and want to do more when I wake up each day...

The colours I hate to say must be my software. I have to pull back some sliders and get out of my laptop. It is not good for editing and the screen is too small...whereas I have more acreage here in my desktop without all those tools in the same window.

I need to go out more and have more birdie practice...at least they are more interesting to me than airplanes. They sing, they chirps, they squawk, etc

I am sick of airplanes by now: they smell, they fart smoke and they need to be cleaned....they all look the same to me now unless some young 'uns will do something stupid like tip the wing of his airplane in the water or something...or the death defying antics of Skip Stewart or some other aerobatic pilots, I do not want to take photos of them anymore. Hubby used to be in air races in his youth that is why I believe in God...not really funny but there is truth to the saying that there is no atheist in a foxhole...he's retired now so I think my prayers are all answered and he is still alive...

[IzzieK]

This confirms what I suggested earlier. I thought at first that the growth was a secondary sexual feature, but I now believe it occurs in both sexes. My suggestion is that evolved some time in the past as a feature to allow this species to distinguish itself from other, similar species, which is why it only appears in the breeding season. The American White Pelican is the only pelican species (out of eight) to show this feature.

I suggested the possibility of an aerodynamic function because some pterosaurs also had a similar growth on their 'beaks'.

John

Oh! that connection...OK, now I understand....that outgrowth appeared on all of them that were there at the time that was why I asked. If it did not, I would have asked which ones are the females and which ones are the males...thanks for the added info. I appreciate any learning I can bunch together for future references...Mind you, i took notes because I know I might encounter them again very soon...

[IzzieK]

George thank you for your feedback and comments...at the moment technicals are out of my league...I am more into techniques in shooting birds explained in a very simple language...so that my mind doesn't have to translate. Did I tell you that I do not speak English fluently and that I have to translate all these into English I can understand?

Here is an example of how the colors are changing when one canal is clipping. Especial when one of the maincolors is dominant.



George

[John 2]

Difficult light and so +2 to Christina's comments Izzie but I would add that I really like the last shot for the way that the featherlike tree growth mimics the bird's plumage.

[IzzieK]

Difficult light and so +2 to Christina's comments Izzie but I would add that I really like the last shot for the way that the featherlike tree growth mimics the bird's plumage.

To me it looks like a bridal lace...but in this case, this is a male Egret about to start its mating dance.