brown pelican in flight

[Joel Arrington]

Canon 40D, aperture priority, 1/4000 @ f/6.3, ISO 800, 70-200 + 2x ext.

[Gautam Biswas]

Hi Joel, A very nice image. The image is sharp at the eye with the catchlight. However overall the image seems a bit soft even though you used a very high shutter speed. Don't know whether it was due to the 2XTC on the 70-200 zoom or the high ISO. There is lack of detail on the right underwing of the bird.
The trees in the background are a distraction too. Would have been nice to have a clearer BG, but in nature photography you do not always get to set up like in the studio.

[Joel Arrington]

Hello Guatam
Thanks for feedback. I have to set my camera to expose for the highlights. So when the sun is higher than the bird, the underwings are dark. I try to fix that in PS without much success. Of course I am panning with the bird. When they are flying downwind, they go by like bullets and any part of the bird not following the pan tends to show motion. That includes the wings. I have been trying for flying shots only a few days so I have yet to get a bird to fly over me close enough for my flash to reach it and illuminate the dark underside. They are shy about flying over people and usually swing wide and low, putting them down into the tree level if not water level. But I will keep trying and eventually I will get lucky and surprise a pelican when it gets up from behind a clump of foliage and doesn't see me until it's too late.

-J

[Alfred Forns]

Joel A couple of things i can suggest

First of all do change your set up No need for that high shutter speed With a shutter speed of 1600 you should have more than enough for a very sharp image The high ISO is actually hurting image quality

Time of day is important Need softer light If you just want to practice is fine

For successful flight photography you need the wind and light to be on your side !!! Birds fly into the wind so for the morning an east wind and west in the afternoon Strong wind is better Going against the flow is difficult I can appreciate when you say they go down wind like bullets

Exposure wise you do need to allow for more light The underside of the wings are like shooting in the shade If the bird is not that far you fill flash is an option Also remember when the light is harsh your total range will exceed that the camera can capture Will blow the whites ..... protect and the shadows will block Open in PS and the results are not pretty Good light is best solution !!!

On the underside of he bird you can see the effect of trying to lighten the shadows Also in the overall color balance

[Joel Arrington]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep trying.

-Joel

[Joel Arrington]

I have few pelicans to work on and I have never had one fly over me with the sun low behind me, lighting the underside. When I get the right bird to fly over, rather than wide and low to the water, I think I can get a good exposure. Okay, maybe I don't need 800 ISO and high shutter speeds. If I had a bird coming out into the wind and light, so it made progress slowly, I suspect I could get a good exposure. I accidentally shot a gull or something a year or so ago and it was sharp at 1/250th second. I have some swans and snow geese and a few ibises that are sharp, too. If a few more pelicans show up on my creek I will likely succeed. Thanks for advice.