Pelican Bath

[Melissa Groo]

Canon 7D
500mm
Gitzo 3530LS/Wimberley
Standing in water

ISO 400
1/1600
f/8

Another from my trip out to Alafia Banks with Shadle (Tampa, FL) last Feb.
Pretty large crop, maybe 50%. Some highlights recovery and lightening of wing. Cloned out some reflective spots on bill. Sharpening.
I hope you like it. Thanks so much in advance for any comments/critique.

[Sachin Saraf]

That's a beautiful image Melissa...Love the sharp eye amidst the splash and raised wings...nice composition and BG as well..

[Josh Clark]

Looks like you got some great bathing shots Melissa. This one and the last one that you posted are no exception. Great raised wing capture. The way the feathers are ruffled and such makes this kind of look like a painting. Not to say that is not a good thing. I really like the look of the shot. Great job.

[Jeff Sorbie]

Great action shot Melissa. Beautiful colors and sharp. It looks to be having a great time.

[Richard Unsworth]

Lovely action here; just the right amount of splash; colors exceptional

tfs

[Landon Starnes]

Awesome action image Melissa! Love the pose and the fact that the eye is clearly visible.

[gail bisson]

Terrific shot. Amazing how the water droplets circle the eye leaving it nice and clear and sharp. Excellent low angle and DOF. No nits from me on this one!

Gail

[Geir Jensen]

A beautiful picture. Wonderful angle. If possible, I would have had a little more room in front of the bird. Well done. Regards Geir Jensen:S3:

[Bill Dix]

I love this one, Melissa. Fantastic splash. Great angle and comp. Well done!

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot. Love the wing position, love the water splash and drops, great detail, and exposed very well.
Well done.

[Jim Crosswell]

Beautiful image Melissa! I like the action, low angle, sharpness and composition.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Melissa, I like this one a lot. low angle makes a big difference. great spalsh and nice clean view of the eye. not always possible with so many flying drops. You made an excellent call on the f-stop. One needs DOF to cover the droplets.

I think you can back off a bit on the sharpening front. The noise in dark spots in BG will also go down. Judging by this file, your base sharpness must have been darn good.

[Melissa Groo]

Thanks all for the comments. Kaustubh, excellent point on the sharpening, it was quite sharp to start out with, and think I got too heavyhanded with sharpening for web. I appreciate your eye.