shy pelican

[Hazel Grant]

Lots of pelicans on the beach in San Diego, but this one was all alone, sort of hiding from the crowd. 1/1600, fa0, iso 1000

[Bill Dix]

I like the shy pose. Somehow the steep downward POV and fairly harsh backlight aren't working for me.

[John Robinson]

Slightly unusual shot Hazel.
Don't know if the original can take it but I might try a closer crop.
Cheers
John

[Hazel Grant]

Appreciate the critique. Did a slight crop and worked on the background. Better?

[John Robinson]

Yes - I prefer that one Hazel
JohnR

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Hazel,

nice find but I'm afraid this isn't working as an avian photo for me. The very steep angle, harsh light and the lacking/soft IQ worked against you. I hope you have better luck next time :)

[Hazel Grant]

Not trying to argue here, but am confused as to how it is not an avian photo? I can accept that the photo has problems that have been pointed out, but how does the angle keep it from being avian? I was on a cliff looking down. Harsh light, yes I can see that and tried to compensate for it. Iit was a bright day and I probably didn't compensate well for that. What is IQ? I do want to keep working on it as opportunities present themselves, but I really don't know why this isn't avian.

[arash_hazeghi]

Not trying to argue here, but am confused as to how it is not an avian photo? I can accept that the photo has problems that have been pointed out, but how does the angle keep it from being avian? I was on a cliff looking down. Harsh light, yes I can see that and tried to compensate for it. Iit was a bright day and I probably didn't compensate well for that. What is IQ? I do want to keep working on it as opportunities present themselves, but I really don't know why this isn't avian.

Hi Hazel,

I don't want to come across harsh but this image is just not appealing to me. You cannot compensate for such harsh light with the sun directly above your head, if you want a better photo you need to take photos when the sun is lower in the sky, e.g. early morning or late afternoon.

Shooting at a less steep angle, getting closer to the bird so you can see some details and paying attention to the light, backgrounds as well as the behavior of the bird/its personality will ultimately make a much better picture which will be more appealing to most viewers. Check out the recent Pelican photos by Artie, they are good examples.

IQ: Image quality, your image does not show any feather details, i.e. it is very soft. I am not sure since the image is so small, but it looks like the Pelican was too far to get any details on him...

I am moving this photo to ETL where you can get more detailed feedback re IQ issues :)

best

[Arthur Morris]

Here is a tip for working in harsh light: get close and point your shadow directly at the bird. At least that way you have a chance. Working at about 105 degrees off sun angle you have no chance to make a good image. Some whites on the head are in full sun while the rest of the bird is pretty much shaded... Yes it is an Avian image but the image quality is poor as Arash mentioned.

There will be a point your shadow at the bird post on my blog pretty soon. a

[Hazel Grant]

Thanks for the clarification. I don't mind "harsh" at all. You were being honest, not rude. As I said, I'm not arguing, just working for better photos. I see what you mean now. I have to get my eye trained. Thanks to both of you for taking the time to reply. When it comes to birds, I will post on ETL in the future.

[Diane Miller]

Hi Hazel,

I'm just popping in here quickly -- helping tend to a brand new granddaughter who arrived a month early, so short of time. (Actually my main duties have been as staff photographer and scratching the cat who is irritated by the sudden lack of attention.)

You'll get some excellent comments here and I'll have a few minutes tomorrow, I hope.

[Doug West]

I don't know about the others, but if you have extra canvas, I'd move the Pelican more toward
the lower right corner. That means probably losing the green, but you might gain more of
the texture from the ground that just started to appear in the upper left.

Doug

[Glennie Passier]

Hazel, I often see your work on the Macro forum and have enjoyed viewing it very much. I probably have never commented, because I don't know enough about that style. Here in the ETL the advice, and just plain, "what I like" or "what I don't like" about an image is always refreshing and not bogged down by all the "rules" of bird photography.

I like this, because it is different. Can you tell me if this is a crop? (Has the softness come about by a big crop?) and if any adjustments have been made in LR etc. All these things make it easier to critique and hopefully come up with a few more suggestions. Artie has come up with a beauty already. Cast your shadow over the bird if the light is harsh, if of course, you can move to a suitable position. I agree with Doug about repositioning if you can. I find the bright white (and greener) droppings? a bit much and would tone them down if possible. The bright green foliage on the LHS draws my eye. I can see you have tried to reduce the effect of the OOF sticks in the FG.

Hazel, I think your image is very small. 85kb? You would know you can post up to 400kb?

I hope to see more soon!

[Diane Miller]

Found a spare moment. Eye level with a subject is an excellent idea but not the only idea. The biggest issue here with the angle is the awkward head and neck position. Would be better to have some separation from the body. But even with this angle, being closer would make the head and neck more easily distinguished and possibly (depending on how the bird tolerated you) give you a chance for a minor shift in position to get the best angle. And closer is always better for image quality. It takes an outstandingly sharp image to stand up to much of a crop.

It helps with suggestions to know the camera and lens as well as ISO, aperture and SS, how much of a crop it was, and details on the processing.

Hope you'll post more here! This is an excellent group!