Tis the season for Pelicans!

[Brownbear]

I adore pelicans because they are so comical and homely on land, and beautiful and sometimes comical in flight. While in Mexico I took hundreds of pelican shots... Alas I don't have time to post all of them... So here are a few.

The surf was huge so I had fun photographing these, and I also learned that I should get a 300 mm zoom lens because with my 28-200 mm lens I didn't have trouble clipping birds but with my 300 mm fixed lens I sure did. Nevertheless some of the clipped shots are still fun.

I would appreciate knowing which images folks like, and any feedback on how I might handle the post processing for the images with the pelicans against the white water of the waves... #2 the WB is as photographed, and of course the water is not pure white because of the sunlight... in #3 I tried to set the correct WB but I think I prefer the warmer tones of #2... Any thoughts on this?

#1



#2


#3


#4


I like the images with the waves #2 and #3 but also the following images even though they are clipped... Do they work, or do I need to crop them for a bolder composition?

#5


#6



Thank you.

[chauncey]

Damn girl, you're really getting the hang of this here hobby. Those are great!

[Donald]

I would appreciate knowing which images folks like,

All of them. A very good set of images, I think.

#2 the WB is as photographed, and of course the water is not pure white because of the sunlight... in #3 I tried to set the correct WB but I think I prefer the warmer tones of #2... Any thoughts on this?

I'd agree with you. I was going to say 'unless', but then changed my mind and will replace it with - 'Even if' ... you are photographing for a specialist 'birding' audience, it is perfectly acceptable, in my view, to present that in an artistic way; i.e. capturing the warm tones of the reflected sunlight. I too prefer the warmer tones.

[Suzan J]

Hi Christina: These are really all just great shots. You have come a long way with your birds in flight! I particularly like Numbers 2 and 3 as the surf in the background is fabulous. You go girl...

[Brownbear]

Thank you Chauncey, Donald and Susan. Truly appreciated and very encouraging.

Donald, thank you for sharing your thoughts on WB... It always throws me for a loop so it is nice to know that others like the colour cast of the sunlight.

Now I have to stop playing with my pelicans and get started on Christmas dinner... I'm afraid my family would not be too delighted with me if I served chocolate for dinner instead of turkey.

But one last shot before I get to the funny pelican images (after Christmas)... Yes, indeed, photo-shopped as I couldn't manage to get any of the pelicans to wear a Santa hat.

Merry Christmas!

[RogerCook]

Christina, You must be in heaven you finally have pelicans to shoot! And I have to say you have certainly come a long way in your skill level nice shots, and for me it's #2 due to the wing position.

[Brownbear]

Yes, I was in pelican heaven. Albeit I'm back in Vancouver and there are no pelicans here but I do have a good back log of pelican images that will tide me over for a little while.

Thank you.

Christina, You must be in heaven you finally have pelicans to shoot! And I have to say you have certainly come a long way in your skill level nice shots, and for me it's #2 due to the wing position.

[AndrewMcD]

Christina,
Wow! These are just outstanding! As I noted in the other thread I've recently attempted a few BIF shots and have come to appreciate just how difficult what you have accomplished is. I love seeing the birds with the breaking surf! Looking forward to seeing more of your work and following more of your threads as you manage to bring out so many helpful comments. You have made an excellent contribution with your activity in these forums as I continue to learn from your experiences and the advice offered by others.
Merry Christmas,
Andrew

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Christina,

WOW

I am torn between #2 and #3, but prefer WB in #2 (i.e. warmer).

You cannot beat being close to the action, even on a longish telephoto shot, it shows in the perspective.

Well done and Happy Xmas,

[Shadowman]

Very nice series.

[FrankMi]

All I can say is Magnificent, Christina. Your photography is certainly improving and this excellent series show that you can capture birds on the wing, get them in interesting poses and in sharp focus.

My only concern is that, at lest for me, they are cropped too tight. I would prefer to see a little more breathing room around the pelicans as they feel to be too tightly constrained within the frame.

[NorthernFocus]

Hi, Christina. Really a nice set of shots. Nos. 2 and 4 are really nice. A bit more room around 2 and crop 4 into a 4x5 format removing the left side of frame. But IMO the strongest image of the lot is the last one you posted less the Santa hat. That is an awesome shot and an example of a case when the clipped wings work just fine. The detail is absolutely stunning in that shot at this resolution. I'd love to see it reposted sans the hat and with contrast adjusted to push highlights almost to the point of clipping while keeping true black. Then just kick saturation a tad. That is really a strong image. If that is a full frame image shot with the 7100 and is sharp viewed large, you've really got a winner there.

Geeze a guy disappears for a few weeks and the girl goes pro. I should just shut up and stay out of the way.

[Brownbear]

Merry Christmas to all! And it is very nice indeed to hear that folks like my pelican shots. These birds are special to me as they were the birds that piqued my interest in photographing birds in flight.

Thank you Andrew, Dave, John, Frank and Dan.

Andrew, I'm always delighted to hear that others learn from my questions.

Frank, thank you for the feedback on the cropping. Unfortunately #5 and #6 are not cropped. It just happened that sometimes I was not able to grab focus until the last minute.... Nevertheless it was a good learning exercise for me. The other images are cropped and your input is very helpful to me... More room to move into!

Dan, thank you as always for your encouragement ( wow) and for helping me along... I will try your edit on number 2 and also on #5. I cropped #5 because I clipped the tips of the wings off but will post again uncropped (sans hat (: ) with your editing suggestions. Truly appreciated as I do have a lot of birds to learn to process...

Dan, can you please clarify the how-tos of this for me?

With contrast adjusted to push highlights almost to the point of clipping while keeping true black.

In Lightroom I can select just the pelican and use the contrast slider to increase the contrast.... Or I could use Elements 9 and use the curves tool to adjust the contrast... (until the highlights start clipping) Or should I increase the highlights to increase the contrast?

Is this because the pelican could use richer colour and tone?

Thank you.

[NorthernFocus]

Merry Christmas to you and yours as well, Christina.

In Lightroom I can select just the pelican and use the contrast slider to increase the contrast.... Or I could use Elements 9 and use the curves tool to adjust the contrast... (until the highlights start clipping)...

You get the idea. Ideally increasing the contrast on the bird without brightening the BG would be best.

Personally I like the composition as is. I'd tweak the lighting a bit and call it a winner. But please post a larger version for us to enjoy

[Brownbear]

Thank you Dan... I will do just that tomorrow or the next day. No working on photos on Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas to you and yours as well, Christina.


You get the idea. Ideally increasing the contrast on the bird without brightening the BG would be best.

Personally I like the composition as is. I'd tweak the lighting a bit and call it a winner. But please post a larger version for us to enjoy

[Brownbear]

I wonder if anyone has any input on how to make the best of waves in bird images...

For example in image 3 I decreased the exposure to make the beauty of the wave stand out more but it darkened the pelican... I tried selectively lightening the pelican in LR, dodging and also shadow but it didn't look right.

ie, as a photographed the pelicans in the waves I adjusted my exposure compensation just enough so the white water of the waves was not overexposed.

Thank you in advance.

[Stagecoach]

Lovely series Christina, No 3 stands out for me with that great action of the water which is not too emphasised to distract your eyes from the superb detail of the bird. Well done.

Grahame

[Bobobird]

A beautiful set, really good. Fav'd them all you know where.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Not much time to read, but looking at the pics, you are improving tremendously! Nice work!

[Brownbear]

Thank you Grahame, Matt and Bobo.

Bobo, please only favourite images of mine that you think are strong. I learn by sharing my images with others and if someone like you, whose photography I admire immensely likes all my photos, it will not help me improve... I'm still learning to analyze my own photos critically. However, I appreciate the kind gesture.

I will get around to the edits later today.