Pelican Portrait

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Captured at Williamstown Victoria with Canon 30D 300mm F4 L IS + 1.4X con. (420mm) 1/2000 sec, F/5.6, ISO 400. Patterm metering, A/priority, +0.3step

http://birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3631&stc=1&d=1202158239

[Arthur Morris]

First rule for preening birds: the bird's head needs to be parallel to the plane of the imaging sensor... Here the bird's head is angled away from you. exposure looks pretty good; not sure of the brightest whites.

later and love, artie

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Thanks Artie.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Adding to Artie's comments, some of the whites look overexposed and the bright and dark spots in the BG are a bit distracting.

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Thanks Axel those spots are rocks on the shore line and I cant think of anyway to get rid of them as cloning would be VERY difficult because of the fine ridge of feathers on the neck and head.

It would appear that I made an error in composition there.

The whites I will attack using my highly undeveloped PS skills:)

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Maybe the BG would have been cleaner if you would have moved to the left. This way the parallel to the camera plane issue would be gone.

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Axel, what I should had done was wait for high tide but that was midnight, I could have lain down in the mud and backed up with the sky but then I would have drowned as the tide came in as I could not have gotten up.

I had given thought of revisiting my Rolleiflex days and having a viewfinder I could look down on but that would be regressing.

It is simply a matter of accumulating the advice generously given here and putting it into practice, I must learn to think PAST the subject matter.

Thanks again folks.

[Arthur Morris]

It is simply a matter of accumulating the advice generously given here and putting it into practice, I must learn to think PAST the subject matter. Thanks again folks.

Now you are getting it. In bird photography (and other types of nature photography as well), the background is often more important than the subject. I was influenced early on by the lovely oof backgrounds of Tim Fitzharris' birds and John Shaw's flowers...

later and love, artie

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Thanks Artie.

Unlike all other sites I have been a member of this one is like a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces actually seem to fit.

I keep copies of every critique on a pdf file and it is simply fantastic.

The attitude of all the folk here is TOTALLY constructive and very genuine whereas on other site one is either put down or in receipt of gratuitous and insincere praise.

This place is very special indeed.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Artie.

Unlike all other sites I have been a member of this one is like a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces actually seem to fit.

I keep copies of every critique on a pdf file and it is simply fantastic.

The attitude of all the folk here is TOTALLY constructive and very genuine whereas on other site one is either put down or in receipt of gratuitous and insincere praise.

This place is very special indeed.

Hey mate, Your most kind words are greatly appreciated.

later and cheers and love, artie