Australian Pelican in breeding colours

[Ofer Levy]

1D Mark IV, Canon 300 f2.8, x1.4, 1/2000, f6.3, iso 500, HH

From this evening. The colours on the beak indicate that this bird is courting and getting ready for nesting.

Slight crop for composition

[Jack Breakfast]

What a ridiculous bird! Thank you for sharing this! So much about this is lovely: the color, the detail, the crispness. Personally I don't love the way the far wing touches the head but otherwise I think it's a lovely flight shot indeed. What a bird!

[arash_hazeghi]

sweet Ofer! it looks like a c 130 hercules! never seen one of these before. excellent TFS!

[Satish Ranadive]

Great great flight pose,magnificent image. Loved the colors, the detail and sharpness.I like the eye. BG is wonderful.

[Daniel Cadieux]

What an awesome bird...looks like a cartoon!! Great colours, techs. OK pose. I could see the subject lower in the frame...

[Doug Brown]

I've never seen this bird before. Pretty incredible looking! And you've captured it expertly in this photo. I do agree with Daniel about placing a little lower in the frame.

[Richard Unsworth]

Killer

and I havent seen one either

[Jonathan Ashton]

Amazing shot - is that eye for real????

[Lorant Voros]

What a bird! Colors are beautiful and the eye is incredible. Agree with Daniel about having the bird lower in the frame. Well done.

[Marina Scarr]

This bird is utterly amazing, as is your capture of it. It doesn't even look real. I just checked what these pelicans look like when the are not in breeding plumage, and they actually look much like our White Pelicans.

Lovely light, flight pose, BG and colors, Ofer!

[stuart wanuck]

Looks like a cartoon image great capture

[Rachel Hollander]

Ofer - very well done, light, colors and that eye all combine in a beautiful image.

TFS,
Rachel

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful image. Beautiful looking bird, awesome light, and great flight pose.Well done.

[Lyle Gruby]

Agree with everything above. Hard to believe thats a real bird!

[dankearl]

Unbelievable!
Just great Ofer, it doesn't look real, great job getting this excellent shot and posting it for our enjoyment!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Wow, this is a special pelican!
Unreal beak colors. I like the blue BG and yes, I guess a bit lower in the frame would make it better.

[Arthur Morris]

Bird superb. Colors astounding. Effect comical. A surefire winner but why so much room below?

[Ofer Levy]

Bird superb. Colors astounding. Effect comical. A surefire winner but why so much room below?

Thanks for your comments everyone!!
Artie, having the bird lower in the frame will kill the image for me. Composition will be centred and boring for my taste. However, a few people suggested the same thing so I guess it is a matter of taste.

[christopher galeski]

can not say a more than what as already been said,great image,I like the crop as presented.well done.

[Arthur Morris]

Artie, having the bird lower in the frame will kill the image for me. Composition will be centred and boring for my taste. However, a few people suggested the same thing so I guess it is a matter of taste.

Makes zero sense to me especially because the viewer's eye is always drawn to lighter areas of the BKGR which in this case is the area below the subject. If I had a choice here I would much rather have had the extra room below the bird than above. Not centered that way and more of the darker blue (above) would be another plus for me. Taste or stubbornness? Not sure :).

[Ofer Levy]

Makes zero sense to me especially because the viewer's eye is always drawn to lighter areas of the BKGR which in this case is the area below the subject. If I had a choice here I would much rather have had the extra room below the bird than above. Not centered that way and more of the darker blue (above) would be another plus for me. Taste or stubbornness? Not sure :).

Artie, we already know we have different tastes, standards and ways we see things when it comes to bird photography....
Please feel free to repost this image to show me and others how it "should" be...

[Arthur Morris]

There is no way to improve this as presented (an you very well know that). Unless you have a much wider RAW file, my suggestions have to do with the original capture. At times folks with open minds can actually learn from my suggestions rather than rejecting them blindly. And that goes even for great photographers like yourself.

[Ofer Levy]

There is no way to improve this as presented (an you very well know that). Unless you have a much wider RAW file, my suggestions have to do with the original capture. At times folks with open minds can actually learn from my suggestions rather than rejecting them blindly. And that goes even for great photographers like yourself.

I am not sure I follow Artie. Why can't you add or remove canvas to/from this image to show the composition you have in mind?

[Arthur Morris]

I do not like adding canvas when there is texture or pattern in the background as there is here. It would not do any justice to the image quality. Simply put, I would like the more room above the bird than below. As in the repost where I stretched the blue water.

[Ofer Levy]

Thanks Artie, your repost works too. However, I don't have enough room at the top. Generally speaking, composition in our profession is often a compromise. I do add canvas when needed but only if it's necessary to save an image.

[Arthur Morris]

YAW. Having been doing this for 28 years I understand that fully :).

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent light, details and bg.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Ofer, got to this a day late. As everyone has said, its a truly remarkable bird. Is it a common one?

perfect subject angle and I like the wing position as well. Eye is gorgeous. so is the light.

[Ofer Levy]

Ofer, got to this a day late. As everyone has said, its a truly remarkable bird. Is it a common one?

perfect subject angle and I like the wing position as well. Eye is gorgeous. so is the light.

Thanks for your comments guys!
Kaustubh, yes, it is a pretty common bird along the coast.