Bad Hair Day

[Bill Holsten]

Brown Pelican breeding adult photographed last week at the La Jolla Cove near San Diego.

1D Mark IV, 500mm, 1/500", f13, ISO 400, hand held

This is a goofy pose and I expect some purists to complain about lack of eye contact, but I like it anyway. I was so close to this bird and I had so much focal length that it was difficult getting this much of it in the frame. I do wish I could have preserved the feather tips on the left hand side.

Comments welcome and thanks for viewing.

Bill

[David N Smith]

Great shot Bill eye contact or not. To me exposure looks good and focus is spot on.

David

[Shawn Zierman]

Beautiful bird. I enjoy the vertical presentation here, strong diagonal suggested by the bill and head angle...works. Overall the composition feels too tight to me, and obviously you eluded to that in your description of working distance....the watery blue bg is so nice, it would have been worthwhile including space for it on the sides if possible, but yes, too much focal length....Nice dof on the subject. I don't consider myself a "purist", not even sure what that would constitute, but I prefer strong eye contact....here, the bird looks focused on preening, so eye contact with the viewer seems unimportant.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Nice details and colour. Isn't it fun when stuck with too much focal length! As is I think I would have pointed the lens a wee bit more to your right (perhaps to have the left edge halfway between the current edge and black neck)...this would have cut the body at left rather than clip it, and it would also have given a bit more room for the bill tip at right. I realize the bird was actively preening and likely moving its bill a lot so yes it is easier said then done!:S3: I do wish the light was coming more from your left rather than right to better illuminate the eye and pouch.

[Doug Brown]

Enjoyed a morning of Pelicans with you and our Thai lunch Bill! Your sharpness and exposure are excellent. The crop is tight, but you can't get any further away from the birds than you were. The light angle could have been a little better for this frame. And I agree that it would have been nice to get the feathers on the left in the image. See you in Costa Rica in a few weeks!