Australian pelican

[Jerry van Dijk]

From my trip to Western Australia last year. These wild pelicans are regularly fed a few fish on the beach in Kalbarri and tend to hang around for a little while after that, giving me a good opportunity for a nice portrait shot. I don't shoot birds often, and this is my third bird portrait ever, so any suggestions for improvement are very welcome. Thanks for looking!

D7000, Nikkor 80-400 @ 230mm, handheld, ISO-400, f/5.3, 1/6400.
ACR6.3, exposure, WB, vibrance, sharpness.

[Randy Stout]

Jerry:

Very well done. Like the texture on the birds head/neck, the goofy looking eye, pink pouch and blue background sets it all off. The angle of the bill and neck works well with the framing.

Makes me think of a cartoon character. If I were going to change anything, would probably move him just slightly to the left in the frame, but very close as is.


Cheers

Randy

[Marina Scarr]

What a super capture, Jerry, and luck you for having this opportunity. I love the pose and the details are amazing. I am finding the image just a tad bright. I brought it into PS and did a Multiply Layer at 15% opacity, and it really brings it up another notch in my opinion. Looking forward to more.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

What an interesting bird. Makes a great portrait subject. Very nice exposure and details.
I'm with Randy on moving the bird a bit more to the left.
TFS and looking forward to more.

[Michael Todd]

Very interesting bird Jerry. Great detail. I really like the eye. The exposure looks good, and the BG contrasts well with the bird.

[vishaljadhav]

Nice one here, wonderful details

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the details, sharpness and eye. Good suggestions above. Well done Jerry.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Marina, I'll try your suggestion. I increased exposure, until the first clipping started to appear in the image (the reflections on the beak). I tried a lower exposure first, but it made the whites of the bird look dull grey, so I opted for the brighter version.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like this lots! Tons of character to these guys. Sharpness looks spot-on and the water BG is very appealing. I too would move the pelican back, just enough that the amount of space at left matches the space at top.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks everyone! Here's a repost with the pelican more to the right and Marina's correction of the brightness, which looks a lot better!

[Jan Wegener]

great portrait. Re-post is great

[Daniel Cadieux]

Repost is spot-on!