Pelicans on the beach...

[jprzybyla]

These are Brown Pelicans on the beach adjacent to a Seabird Rescue Shelter. All were injured and nursed back to health. C&C welcomed. Thank you for viewing.

#1



#2

[terrib]

I really like the second photo. You really get to see the birds. I know nothing about pelicans. Is this a male and female? I wondered because some of them have that more striking coloring.

[Mike Buckley]

The second seems to have a bit more contrast and dynamic range than the first one. Consider adding both to the first one using Levels & Curves. Also consider making a very tight crop in the first one that eliminates the foreground. Admittedly, this will produce a style that I tend to like, as I like tight crops such as your second image.

[jeeperman]

Nice work Joe. I agree it is nice to be able to see the birds up close, and for that I like the second. Having said that....if I were to choose one for my wall it would be the first hands down. In a large size on the wall you would see plenty of detail in the birds. I try not to get so caught up in the "for online display" and work towards making an image that displays well in both places. Not that a tight crop can't look nice on a wall, just my preference, I lean towards a scenery type crop but enjoy both.


Thinking back to my own images....you would not know that is my preference by all the tighter crops I do. lol Reall just depends on what you have to work with when hitting the shutter.

[Bobobird]

I like both. Well done.

[jprzybyla]

I really like the second photo. You really get to see the birds. I know nothing about pelicans. Is this a male and female? I wondered because some of them have that more striking coloring.

Hi Terri, thank you for viewing and commenting. The two pelicans are an adult and a juvenile. The adult is the one with the white on the head. It takes young pelicans three years to have the adult plumage.

[jprzybyla]

The second seems to have a bit more contrast and dynamic range than the first one. Consider adding both to the first one using Levels & Curves. Also consider making a very tight crop in the first one that eliminates the foreground. Admittedly, this will produce a style that I tend to like, as I like tight crops such as your second image.

Hi Mike, thanks for taking time to look and comment. In post processing the first image I did use the tone curve and point curve in Adobe Lightroom 4. I also tried several different crops, before deciding that this one was the most pleasing to me. The tighter crop just did not have the feeling of the pelicans on the beach, although it did show the features of the birds better. Posted below is a tighter crop.

[jprzybyla]

Nice work Joe. I agree it is nice to be able to see the birds up close, and for that I like the second. Having said that....if I were to choose one for my wall it would be the first hands down. In a large size on the wall you would see plenty of detail in the birds. I try not to get so caught up in the "for online display" and work towards making an image that displays well in both places. Not that a tight crop can't look nice on a wall, just my preference, I lean towards a scenery type crop but enjoy both.

Thanks Paul, you and I think alike. I remember reading a post in this forum by Colin Southern saying when he looks at an image he imagines what it would look like printed on canvas for display. Unless it is a specimen shot I try to go for the scenic image, sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. Keep shooting and posting.


Thinking back to my own images....you would not know that is my preference by all the tighter crops I do. lol Reall just depends on what you have to work with when hitting the shutter.

[jprzybyla]

I like both. Well done.

Thanks Bobo, I appreciate your comments.

[Mike Buckley]

Now that I've seen the tighter crop, which you made exactly as I imagined, I don't like it nearly as as much as the original crop. Thanks for offering it anyhow!