White Pelican

[Greg Vinyard]

Took this shot from a pontoon raft in morning light. Nikon D200 with a Nikon VR 80-400 @ 400 mm. manual exp. 1/1600s-F5.6,
white balance-sunlight, exp. comp 0.
Seems out of focus, I did not send a high enough res. file. Originally shot RAW.

[Tony Whitehead]

I agree Greg, it does look soft. may just need some more sharpening to prepare for web display. Have you seen the sticky at the top of the Digital Photography Workflow forum - that may have some info to help. I think you have done well to maintain feather detail with the bright white bird against the dark background. Interested to see you used manual exposure then note no exposure compensation - what did you meter from? Only other comment is that to me it would look nicer with the bird further to the right to have more space in front of it. Possibly zoom back to allow a bit more breathing room around the bird.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

You did well on the exposure of the whites, the BG looks very dark, however. Maybe apply some curves or S/H. The bird is a bit tight in the frame and I would have preferred to see the entire bill. I'm not sure if it is out of focus or if it just needs more sharpening. Keep them coming.

[Mike Poe]

I'm with Axel on seeing the entire bill. Also a vote for a little less of a tight crop.