"The Point of Impact"

[David Salem]

We have been having a great time over the last week or two shooting diving Brown Pelicans. It's fun and challenging trying to capture the moment of impact. This is one of the few frames that the eye was open at impact.
Most of the time the nictitating membrane is closed in preparation for hitting the water. I hope you like it.

1DX---600mm---f5.6---ss1/5000---ISO500---HH@8:30am---15% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.

David

[Robert Kimbrell]

Very good timing David. Like the visible feet here yer retaining a good head angle.

[gail bisson]

The eye without the nictitating membrane makes this a winner.
Love how sharp and clear the shot is. And talk about perfect moment of impact!
No nits from me.
As always, a treat to look at your shots,
Gail

[David Salem]

Thanks Robert and Gail. I got a bunch of similar shots but none with the eye open.
Glad you like it

[Grace Scalzo]

Super diving pose! As great as the beak touching the water is, I also like the curled foot. Great work, yet again, David.

[Gerald Gardebled]

Great timing, not an easy shot to get. Congrats!

[keith mitchell]

Sure wish I could do flying birds, perfect timing with the beak just entering the water,excellent work David.


Keith.

[Ross Taylor]

Hi David,

I feel this is a superb shot, for all the reasons the others commented on. Details are simply amazing.

You may consider to look at the contrast on the bird's body. My first impression when the image appeared on my screen was body contrast is high, probably due to all those sunlit white streaks on brown.

TFS
Ross

[dankearl]

Very cool angle, Dave, the feet are awesome as are all the details. Very nice as usual...

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Thanks Ross,
Yes they are very contrasty, especially in the bright morning sun. As you said, it's the light feathers against the very dark ones that gives this look.

[John Robinson]

Well caught David- spot on Did you get any more shots before or after ?
John

[David Salem]

Thanks John. Yes I did. Up until this event I have been trying for years to get a frame like this. I got a few over the years, but none as good as this.

This was taken on a clear morning when 12-15 Pelicans were diving and feeding on fish for two hours right in front of me. It was mayhem!! It was hard to figure which one to focus on. I shot 1100 frames in two hours and came away with quite a few great shots. Many before the impact and many after. As I mentioned most had the nictitating membrane closed at impact so I thought this one was cool because it wasn't. The explosion of water is pretty cool to see as this 20 pound bird hits the water at 40 miles per hour. I will process one and post it.
Thanks again

[David Salem]

This isn't the next frame but one of many after the the impact.

[Marina Scarr]

Your last frame works too! I love the OP and its impact. The only thing I might try would be a slightly more conventional crop with more room on the right for the bird to dive into.

[adrian dancy]

What a cracking image David...I wished we had pelicans in the UK.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dave, this must be one of the best Pelican images around, and even better, that you have captured the precise moment before entering the water. I like the light, IQ, and overall detail, and this is tack sharp. I do have to agree that a bit more space on the right wont harm the image. Very well captured.