Brown Pelican (Pelecanus Occidentalis) at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area
Back to the Salton Sea. One of the most productive fisheries in the world. And many think of it as a dead body of water. Tilapia. Pelicans like Tilapia. This one was the only pelican feeding in the boat launch lagoon. He had been diving and skimming. But I think the bird wanted to check me out. Does that happen? I made this photograph in September 2014.
ORIGINAL
1DX, 500/5, tripod with gimbal
1/2000, f/4, ISO 160 (auto)
Evaluative metering, back button focus, AI servo, single point expanded
LR: dropped highlights a bit; boosted shadows, increased saturation yellow and orange
What do you think of the crop? I think it's a bit airy, as I didn't want to go much further. Even though the ISO was only 160.
I like the composition with the crop. Going much further might have impacted IQ. I love the reflection! Might consider taking a bit more off the top to bring that area into better balance with the delicacy reflection -- just enough to get rid of the more solid part of the green.
Did you keep shooting as he got closer? Looks like it might have been a good opportunity to fill the frame.
I have one frame where the bird is closer. Shortly after this image it banked camera right and landed in the water (watered?). It's the same bird in my entry on 1/10/2016. I'll work on the closer image tonight. Thanks, Diane.
Hey Jim. Very nice. The reflection is subtle and lovely. I love the wing tips and the look he is giving you! (Yes, I do think birds check us out as we do them) Agree with the slicing off the top. I would have a look at a tiny CW rotation to level out the ripples.
Hey, y'all. Thanks for the C&C. For me, a big part of this process is learning to see. And it helps to have your eyes to show me the way. So. I cropped and rotated. A big improvement. But the dark water also bothered me, so I created two RPs, increasing the blue luminance on the second. What do you think?
Jim, my personal preference would be the second one with the blue HSL luminance increased. I love playing with the HSL luminance sliders in ACR...very subtly. I would even try the red slider for the reflection. I like the crop.
Well done!
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus Occidentalis) at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area
