Splashing down

Gallery: AvianPosted July 27, 2011113 views9 comments

I took this photo in Dallas at a local lake. A group of up to a hundred pelicans has wintered there for many years. I captured this guy as he (or she, don't know which) came skidding in for a landing. The things I like the most about this shot are the wing position, the light and the way the white pelican is set off so nicely by the dark BG. I also like the trailing spray of water behind the bird and the splashes to the front and the way they too are set off by the BG. As far as the crop I chose to leave a little more space to the right for him to slide but still tried to leave room to the left to show the trailing splash.

D300s with 200-400 VRII lens
1/1600 @ f6.3 ISO 250

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Robert Holguin on July 27, 2011 at 9:51 PM

Great timing. I too like the wing position and the water splash. My only nit is the whites are tad hot. Other than that well done.

Registered on January 25, 2011, 44 Posts, 294 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 27, 2011 at 10:03 PM

Nice job on the exposure, Robert. I do like the landing pose and the spray. This is a tough one to choose the crop on. I think this probably works as well as any. If you have any more room on top, it does feel just a bit crowded there.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on July 28, 2011 at 7:59 AM

Great catch of the action! I like the water drops caught in the air and that the pelicans feet are still visible. Also, at least on my monitor there is detail, some faint, in the whites. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 28, 2011 at 1:16 PM

Great action and it looks like a pretty good exposure Robert, very sharp. I'm not sure about the crop, maybe adding a little room on top and/or bottom would make it feel less crowded there.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on July 28, 2011 at 1:19 PM

Good timing to get this, I like the splash effect and dark background as well, maybe a little more room on top and a little adjustment to bring out more detail in the whites but a nice shot as is, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on July 28, 2011 at 5:05 PM

I really like this landing pose Robert and how you were able to get a look from the pelican as it landed. The spalshing water looks great. The small version posted is only 73.9 KB which indicates this file was over compressed, try to keep the file size closer to the 300 KB limit and more detail will show. With it compressed this much I can detect blockiness in the background that would not be there if this were closer to 300 KB. I think the comp is a touch tight on the top and bottom and would allow a little more space there, but that is just my personal taste.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Marquart on July 29, 2011 at 9:59 PM

Nice catch Robert, good timing. I like the pose and water spray. Good sharpness.

Registered on October 24, 2009, 126 Posts, 799 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on August 7, 2011 at 12:03 AM

Nice capture of this landing Robert!

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on June 3, 2012 at 9:47 AM

Love the action and wing position here Robert, great choice on the pano that includes all that water spray too..
Great sharpness, well done

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments