Hop Scotch - Brown Pelican take off

[Randy Stout]

While out on Tampa Bay this past Feb, this fine fellow blasted off while we were watching spoonies. The lighting was really nice, and I thought it gave him a nice 3D effect.

D700 600VR f/4.5 1/2500s ISO 500 Standing in Tampa Bay with James and crew!

Post: Selective sharpening, lowered contrast, toned down a few dark areas in BG, rotated to level and expanded canvas slightly

Interesting compositional challenge. Could see a version cropped from the right, but liked the splash.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Randy,
I like the splash too and am glad you included it. Very nice lighting as you said. A great in flight pose and you captured it very well.

Allen

[PhilCook]

Liking the golden tones Randy and great timing, those wings are beautiful. I also like seeing the shoreline behind and the blue of the water. Difficult composition and I don't know what I would keep the back splash or lose it and have more space in the direction of flight....is there any more canvas to add on the left ?

[Karl Egressy]

I'm with Phil on the question of composition; it is a hard call weather to include the splash of give him/her more space to fly into. The picture is very nice, excellent wing position, details and sharpness, Randy.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks guys:

No more room on the right unfort. I can add a small amount but may just settle on a more squarish crop, without the splash. I think the strong diagonals of the wings will help a square crop work OK.

Thanks for the input!

Cheers

Randy

[Daniel Cadieux]

I too wish there was more of the splash, but I understand your predicament and so a squarish comp would be a good alternative indeed. Neat pose on the pelican, and the techs and details are both very good.

[Randy Stout]

After digesting turkey for a while, I did a slight retool of the image. Re cropped, extended canvas on top a bit.

Let me know what you think.

Cheers

Randy

[dankearl]

The light is just super, I like the repost very much, sharp and great exposure

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Randy, I like the original comp over the repost. With that said, if you do take the splash out of the back, I would add some space to the front and keep the same aspect ratio. Stunning image nonetheless.

[Satish Ranadive]

Randy Sir:
Marvelous take off pose capture in elegant light.Wonderful colors and details.Love it.
I like both compositions but would prefer the square one,since (IMHO) the flash of water is little bit away from the flash at the legs.

Regards,
Satish.

[David Salem]

Randy, I like the repost much better too. The splash wasn't big enough to help the image IMO. Techs look great.

[Daniel Cadieux]

The repost works quite well Randy, more balanced to my eye.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks guys, appreciate the input on the repost. It is interesting, as I had a long series of this take off, and I think my brain was influenced by the series, not just the single image as a stand alone!

Cheers

Randy