A pair of white pelicans

[Ben Egbert]

Near Bingham City UT and just north of the more famous Bear River NWR is another refuge named Sulphur Creek. Last spring I found this pair of white pelicans among other courting birds. I liked it enough to print it. After hanging out at this forum I now see several flaws and wanted to get input for improving this sort of shot in future.

I see the head angle is not ideal and the back bird is not in DOF. What other suggestions do you have for the future beside earlier in the day and including any PP hints.

50D, 500f4, +1.4x at f8 ISO100 a/1250 shutter speed. Shot from a Gitzo, Acraswiss and Wimberley sidekick.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Nice image, here is my 2 cents:

Waited too long, birds were past the optimal shot position, still nice image but much stronger if shot earlier. IMO, I do not use ISO 100, I want the flexibility to have a fast shutter and the low ISO is too restrictive, maybe 200, usually 400. In this case your exposure techs were solid, just a little late to the party. Regarding the second bird, You could increase f/stop numbers to gain DoF but the offset is shutter speed. Nice colors (seem worked a tad), keeping two in focus is tough, I will let others comment on that as well - nice work.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Ben, I visited this area on the way back from Yellowstone back in June. Bear river and Sulphur Creek are amazing birding spots and not to be missed if you are in the area.

Some things to consider about the shot... When presenting two or more birds it is best to have some separation between them - makes for a cleaner look and better composition! Both head angles are a bit off and both birds are past the center of interest. Whites are in check but you will always get a bit of loss of detail in the harsh direct sun. Might want to play with the overall color balance a bit as the water color seems a tad unnatural to my eye. Could also selectively sharpen both eyes and lighten the eye on the far bird.

Overall nice capture which could have been stronger if gotten just a few seconds earlier! Like the low capture angle and sharpness of your image. Love the white pelicans!

[Ron Boisvert]

Hi Ben, I second the excellent comments from Jeff and Kerry, and would only add that you might consider making use of the Rule of Thirds in your composition and offsetting them a little bit. Keep them coming!

[Ben Egbert]

Thanks all for replies. Good suggestions all. Since this is at least a 50% crop, I could easily get rule of thirds. I need to find one of those overlay actions.

On color, I used my print calibration when processing this one. D50 and pretty dark (80CD/mm^2). I am now doing web processing with a brighter calibration at d65.

Edit, I also use ISO400 as my start point, but there were no fliers and I was on a tripod. So I kept turing down ISO and still had 1/1250. I could have gone up on aperature for better DOF.

[Alfred Forns]

Great comments and can add I would warm up the image a bit

btw strong point on raising the ISO for smaller aperture/dof

[Lance Peters]

Great comments for Jeff and Kerry - covered it well for me.

Keep em coming :)

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Ben,
All of the techs. and good advise given...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Agree with all the advices given. What a lovely color in the beak these guys have.

[Ben Egbert]

Thanks all for your comments. I have to ask, what is the proper ettiquete here? Should a new poster like me give critque to others on this forum? I understand that need for participation, and am eager to do my part, but want to be sure I am qualified first.

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Please do give critique.
I believed everyone is qualify to tell what they like or what make the image looks good to them. I'm a novice too, but I do comment anyway :p