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Thread: Pelican Silhouette

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    Default Pelican Silhouette

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    This was taken at the end of a great day on Tampa Bay with James Shadle---Best of Florida workshop. C&C encouraged and greatly appreciated.

    Canon 40D; f5.6, 1/800; Manual exposure; ISO 800; 100-400 @400.

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    Hi Katie,

    This is a lovely image. The bird has strong edges(sharp). I like the inclusion of the tree line. The color of the sky is beautiful. In my opinion the slight gradient in the sky helps add impact/interest to the image. Well done and thanks for sharing this lovely image.

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Katie:

    Very nicely done. Phil covered the points well.
    I was struck by the thought that it might be fun to flip the treeline 180 degrees so that the mass of the trees balance the incoming bird. I may try a version to that effect. I am always tinkering with balance and masses in my images, and this type of image really lends itself to various "artistic" interpretaions.

    Cheers

    Randy

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    Thanks Randy, interesting idea; I'd like to see your version.

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    BPN Member Julie Brown's Avatar
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    The color is outstanding Katie. Randy's suggestion sounds interesting-looking forward to seeing that demonstrated.
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    BPN Viewer Bruce Enns's Avatar
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    Really excellent silhouette Katie...well done! I love the colour/gradient in the sky and the fine edges of the black components, like various feathers and the leaves.

    Congrats!

    Cheers!
    Bruce

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    Danny J Brown
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    Katie - One of the most intriguing silhouettes I've seen at BPN in a while due to the great sky color and the shape of the pelican. Also, just downright good silhouette shooting. Man, I have to stop and think about how to spell that word every time. I really like this one.

    DB

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    This is an optical illusion. Is the pelican flying toward or away? :)

    Anyway, here's a quick and dirty workup to give an idea of Randy's concept.


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    Great silhouette! Love the colors, the landing pose, and the composition (prefer the original)!

    I'm seeing a bit of a halo around the bird and the leaves.
    For silhouettes like this one that are sharp out of the camera, I usually do not apply any output sharpening.
    Sharpening increases the contrast at the edges but for a silhouette, there is plenty of contrast to begin with and applying USM usually does not have much benefit but can easily cause halos. Try it without any output USM and see what you think.

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    BPN Viewer Dave Leroy's Avatar
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    Lovely photo Katie. You really caught the Golden Light.

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    Beautiful! Very striking which is good for a portrait of this type. Either way will be fine to me. A good title would be which way the bird is heading, it looks as though it really could be coming or going...

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hi Katie, excellent silhouette and tree line against an amazing coloured sky/BG. An opportunity well used, Congrats. ( I agree not to sharpen silhouette's, it does create a halo, and you are not benefitting from bringing out any detail. )

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    Thank you all! I see what Randy meant about balance in Colin's version (thanks, Colin) and it is definitely more balanced but as I compare the two versions I think I like the original better as it has a bit more tension. Thanks also for the info re sharpening silhouettes.

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Congrats on a very fine image Katie!! Both versions work well. Very enjoyable image to view:)

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    Love the shot to begin with, love the repost even more.

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    WOW!! I love silhouettes and would love to have something like this in my files. The shades in the sky, the treeline and the bird placement....cant get any better. I am with Mike on the sharpening part. I also never apply any sharpening to such images.

    Thx for sharing this beauty.

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