American White Pelican

[Danny J Brown]

I've posted some intense, action images of white pelicans on the Mississippi River so I'm sharing a kinder, gentler pelican photo.

Canon EOS40D; Canon 500/4; 1/3200; f/6.3; EC - 2/3; ISO 200; Gitzo GT3530LS w/Wimberley II

[Randy Stout]

Danny:

Beautiful exposure control on whites. Great matching poses.

I think I would prefer it if the rear bird was not overlapping with the front, but this one is starting to grow on me a bit.

Do the white's stay there all year?

Randy

[Tony Whitehead]

Lovely plumage detail and textures, Danny. Agree with Randy that some separation would be nice but the differential focus is maintaining some separation as is. The echoed pose is very nice.

[Danny J Brown]

Danny:

Beautiful exposure control on whites. Great matching poses.

I think I would prefer it if the rear bird was not overlapping with the front, but this one is starting to grow on me a bit.

Do the white's stay there all year?

Randy

Just here in Missouri for the winter and early spring.

[Stu Bowie]

Danny, excellent exposure, and really sharp detail too. The Pelican at the back is resembling the shadow even down to the ruffled plumage.

[Fabs Forns]

I like as presented, separation would not have given us the feathers on top of the back body they way they are now, which is part of the charm of the pic IMO.
Great whites and nice use of selective DOF.

[Mike Fuhr]

Separation really not an issue for me because of the dof. I like that the background bird's beak leads you to the bird in the foreground. Beautiful image!:)

[Danny J Brown]

Thanks everybody for taking the time to comment and special thanks to Fabs and Mike for keeping me from getting a complex regarding that separation issue.:)

[Mike Fuhr]

Thanks everybody for taking the time to comment and special thanks to Fabs and Mike for keeping me from getting a complex regarding that separation issue.:)

There are definately rules when it comes to things like use of shutter speed to capture action, etc., but I wouldn't lose sleep about compositional "rules." If we relied on strict compositional rules we would all be taking the exact same shot of a bird on a stick. They are only there for guidance in my opinion -- somtimes we get a bit too caught up in them and forget to tap into our creative side. As long as you like it....