These pelicans are amazing and will be in full color soon. They're pretty tame, so I was able to get close. Initially I thought it needed a little canvas on both sides, but when I did that, the original looked better for some reason. Let me know your thoughts, maybe I just need to add more cliff on the right.
@10am, Hand-held, 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM +2.0x, AP, 1/1600, 7.1, ISO 500, Evaluative Metering - S&H, curves, color sat., toned down cliff with burn, removed a few light and dark spots in ocean, sharpening. There is one more change made to pelican to reveal, but wanted to get first impressions.
Enjoy the new year everyone!
Thanks for looking and your feedback is appreciated,
Thanks for your feedback guys.
Sid, you're right, I didn't start shooting til mid-morning - that's the other change, there was a beak shadow that ran down the belly. I tried to soften it with levels and curves, but it still looked pretty bad. So I cloned and shortened the shadow so it was closer to beak.
Best to shoot it in better light, and also use beamer flash to help reduce shadows.
Brendan; I agree about the harsh light (high contrast) andwhat I noticed is the side facing the light source being bleached. The fact that it was mid-morning has something to do with where the shadows fall, but nothing to do with the contrast of the light. Sunlight, unfiltered by clouds, smoke, mist, or anything that will diffuse it by scattering the light rays, will be high contrast. Period. What is true is that in early morning morning mists, fog and low lying clouds, which often disapate with the heat of the day, are more likely to be around to diffuse the light. The light has roughly 3x more atmosphere to travel through than at mid day which increases its chances to encounter a diffusing element as well. Lacking something to scatter the light, light can be high contrast immediately after sunrise. Don't believe me? I have pictures to prove this.
The advantage to early morning and late day photography, in high contrast conditions, is that it is easier to hide the dark detail-less shadows behind the subject. However, shadows are just part of the problem; camera sensors inability to capture the full range of luminosity possible in high contrast light still exists.
regards~Bill
Brendan, nice composition of the Brown Pelican. I want to go back there again soon too. Do you know when they will be in full breeding colors? I think you were fighting the light of the time of day. It also would have been great if he looked just a touch more in your direction. Oveall, I like the shot very much. I like the diagonal lines that start at the eye and lead us down to his feet. Nancy
Thanks Bill & Nancy. Definitely need to shoot in softer light. Full breeding colors in mid January, Artie and his crew are leading an IPT there starting on Jan. 19th (sold out).
Brown Pelican on cliff - La Jolla
