Another Brown Pelican

[Diane Miller]

La Jolla, CA (north edge of San Diego), breeding plumage. Sort of like shooting statues, but the only time I've seen them in this plumage (they have faded by the time they come back up north) so I appreciated their cooperation.

Canon 5D Mk III, 600mm II. Big Gitzo with Wimberley II. ISO 800, f/9.5, 1/000 sec. Cropped to 70% of original frame, for composition. Basic LR5 adjustments then to PS CS6 for slight Detail Extractor on bird only. Slight sharpening of exported JPEG with Smart Sharpen.

C&C of course always appreciated.

[John Robinson]

Wow ! You might say that,s got some detail in it !! Good positioning -good background- not bad really
John

[Ashley Cohen]

fantastic image. Great use of the light. Nice to see the processing info too, very helpful.

[Sandy Witvoet]

WOW! Diane, the thumbnail does not do this one justice! Bird is so PERFECT! My only suggestion is .... how about the teeniest bit of CCW rotation? Seems that the BG is a bit headed to the CW side.... But not a big issue for me. So sweet pose and lighting!

[gail bisson]

Rule #1. Never admit to how easy a shot was!!
I really like this one.
Great colors, detail and light.
Gail

[Diane Miller]

Thanks, everyone!

Sandy, I did rotate it a bit but you're right -- a squeak more was needed.

Gail, yeah, I know, but I figured everyone would see that I was working in a statuary garden. At least I had to focus! (Which the 5D3 makes pretty easy!)

I struggled with color correction here. This was fairly early light, 10 minutes after the first light hit them, but about 40 minutes after sunrise. (There was a hill behind me.) But the air was pretty icky and I suspect the color temp was a little warmer than might be expected. Didn't place a gray card for reference as it could have been in the way of several other photographers who were moving around and working low to the ground.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Diane, love the soft light, and not to mention the great detail you captured. Im going to say it again, I just like the colours on these guys so much. Exposure and sharpness spot on.

[Karl Egressy]

Great pose, nice light and colors.

[Raybel Robles]

Agree with all of the above. Lovely image and colors!

[Rachel Hollander]

Diane - it all works nicely here, color, light, details, sharpness.

TFS,
Rachel

[Diane Miller]

Thanks, folks!

BTW, this one is not in breeding plumage, at least not yet. I've read that the nape of the neck grows chocolate brown feathers then. I have some with those feathers just coming in (scruffy looking) and some with the lovely brown velvet color fully developed.

I'm wondering about eye coloration variations now. Some have pale blue eyes, some light brown (as the one above), and some appear to be in between, with almost no color. I'm just curious if this is male-female, juvie-adult, or just the sort of variation people have?

[keith mitchell]

Diane cracking detail and pin sharp you should be very pleased with this I know I would be.

Going to Florida in August so should find some of these I hope.

Keith.

[David Salem]

I have the exact same shot on the exact same rock :) Love the detail and the light on this clean shot. Yes, they are a big bird just sitting there but they are beautiful in this plumage and make for a great shot and a nice addition to your portfolio. Nice work.

[christopher galeski]

very nice,IQ spot on,love the pose,nice light.well done.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

I too have the exact same shot on the exact same rock :)
Lovely light, pose and IQ. I'd crop a bit from the right.
I hope the birds and the seal lions get to stay on the La Jolla cliffs.
If the "Citizens for Odor Nuisance Abatement" get their way, La Jolla wouldn't be the same to me.