Pelican in Flight

[Cathy McEntee]

This was taken early this morning. Almost had a couple of super shots, but I managed to clip the wings. Practice... Anyway, C&C very much appreciated.

Nikon D7000
Sigma 150-500 @450mm
ISO 640
f 7.1
1/1600
spot metered, manual exposure
hand held from boat

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Cathy,

I like the balance in the frame and the eye look toward the lens makes the image a bit unique and i like uniques photographs. There are some hot pixels in the head area but overall you handled the whites well. Just curious, what did you use as a reference point for the spot reading. Often, with a bright sky it is common to add 1.5 (+/-) stops to balance the meter against under exposure in this case you needed to expose for the whites as well. On balance, the picture is well done given moving subject and boat. I would apply selective sharpening on the head and eye areas - thanks for sharing - keep em coming.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Cathy, very nicely done! Shooting from a boat can be challenging. You have excellent sharpness and exposure. Good panning technique is evident. The bird feels a bit cramped in the frame and I would suggest adding to the right and bottom of the image. The eye seems a bit dark and could be lightened a tad. Good job!

[EzhilSuresh]

Cathy, very nice pose and well captured.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Cathy,

Greetings. Eye contact is particularly cool. Great banking pose with everything in the light... Good show!

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Cathy McEntee]

Thanks Kerry and Jeff for your critique. I fine tuned the image a little more. BTW Jeff - I metered off the bird +1/3.

[John Chardine]

Good comments and a lot of potential here Cathy. I run another round of sharpening. I tried this (Ps Smart sharpen @ 80%, 0.3) and the image responded very well.

[Cathy McEntee]

Thanks John. I'm starting my CS5 class next week--can't wait to learn how to do this.