Diving Pelican

[David Salem]

Taken a few years ago in So Cal when we had a group of birds feeding regularly at a beach estuary for a week or two. Lots of fun watching these big birds diving close to us.

1DX---840mm---f6.3---ss1/3200th---ISO640---Handheld @8:30am---35% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.

David

[Jay Ing]

I prefer the cropped version just because the details are so well captured and retained. I've shot the guys a little bit in Florida and though they're big once they make the turn they're very hard to capture (at least for me). This is a wonderful shot. Thanks for sharing.

[arash_hazeghi]

super sharp and love the super dynamic pose with the sharp details, what else can you ask for.

[gail bisson]

What a great "fighter plane"pose! IQ is off the charts on this one.
Light angle is perfect. Whites are exposed perfectly.
It is weird how the larger image looks well composed but the smaller frame looks boxy. I could see a version with a bit more room in front and below ~3%.
I am not crazy about the shoreline in the BG intersecting the head. I bet the next frame shows the head cleared from the shoreline?
A gorgeous frame,
Gail

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone.

Gail,
I must have used the 1200 pixel image that I had in my files from a while ago and I recomposed the 1900 pixel image last night. Also I usually don't like the background cutting through the bird in most images but this one had enough action and detail that I didn't mind it so much. The next frame did not have as nice of a wing position so I chose this one.

Thanks for your comment and suggestions.

[Bill Dix]

Great dynamic flight shot. As Jay notes, it's tough to catch them once they decide to make the plunge. Lovely light. I'll have to admit that the larger image shows the great detail to perfection (although I can't scroll to the far right of the image - cuts off in the middle of the M in "com", but that doesn't detract from a fabulous image.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dave, excellent sharp detail throughout the big fella, and good DOF on him too. I like the concentrated look on his face, hopefully he had a fish in his sights. Ive always said your Pelicans have more colour than our plain white Pelicans. Well captured mate.

[stuart wanuck]

cool nice and sharp

[Isaac Grant]

Fantastic diving pose with such an intense stare. Details look great. This is one of the coolest pelican shots I have seen. I do see what Gail is talking about re the shoreline intersecting the head. Maybe you could dodge that line a bit and perhaps blur it a touch? I think that would soften that transition zone just enough to lessen the impact and not draw the eye.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I don't mind the intersecting shoreline at all. The dynamics of the shot sure make up for any slight "deficiency".
It is a fantastic dive pose and there is so much detail I keep looking around the frame ignoring the others posted in Avian. For a while at least. :)

Great work David!

[Randy Rimland]

incredible razor sharp beautiful colors

[David Salem]

Thanks again everyone.

Yes, I didn't love the intersecting head but now that I look at it it highlights the White head in the green background as opposed to if it were all in blue water. The main reason I posted this image is for the cool action packed pose, nice Contrasting colors and killer sharp details and IQ.
Oh, and I thought it would look great in the 1920px size as it looks unreal in the full size TIFF on my 5k IMac screen.
It's nothing I personally did but when the light is lined up properly and you have a nice subject with more than 50% of it in the frame, all of our cameras can take beautifully detailed images like this.

Thanks again

[William Dickson]

Beautiful detail on this one David. The sharpness on the bird looks real good, showing the detail perfectly. Love the flight pose and colours on the bird. The larger image looks great on my screen.

Very well done.

Will

[annmpacheco]

This is a rocket Dave, sorry I missed this one yesterday... All has been said, and so I'm immediately taken with the speed, the formation, and the anticipation of the dive into the blue... So, its small potatoes to me about the shoreline, maybe wouldn't even be as dramatic with that "gorgeous" blue only! wowsa

[arash_hazeghi]

it's all about the dynamic pose! you nailed it. you could wish for all green or all blue BG, but I'd take this one as is :D

[Tim Foltz]

Dave, I'd know this location anywhere. Nice and sharp, killer BG, wing spread, and colors.
To bad they didn't show for 2017, keep your fingers crossed for this year.

-Tim