American white pelican

Gallery: AvianPosted April 13, 2011129 views20 comments

I thought I would give you all a break from the snail kites this time around. Here is a white pelican from this past winter. These big birds are not hard flight targets, but they are an exposure challenge with the pure whites, blacks, and bright yellows. I really like the flight position and the snow white plumage in this shot. Please view the larger image for max details. Thanks.

Canon 1DM4
500mm f/4 + 1.4x TC
ISO 320
1/3200s
f/7.1
Manual exp.
Hand held from my boat
80% of FF

Comments

20 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on April 13, 2011 at 8:49 PM

Some day I will fix my PS action to include changing the color space to sRGB. Until then I probably will keep forgeting to change it and thus keep posting Adobe RGB 720px images. Duh! Here is the image in sRBG. As usual the 1200px version is correct.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on April 13, 2011 at 9:49 PM

Ron, Don't give up on posting the snail kites, I love them. IMO you nailed the exposure. This is one of the best White Pelican flight images I have seen. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on April 13, 2011 at 9:50 PM

Wow! Brilliantly exposed Ron, I don't think I've ever seen such wonderful detail in well lit white feathers as this image shows, extremely well handled :^)

The wingspread is superb and I love that you were able to capture at least a little light in the subject's eye.

Not sure if it's my monitor of just my eyes, but I can't actually see any difference between the colours of these two versions :^.

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

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on April 13, 2011 at 10:14 PM

Perfect exposure and a very nice flight pose. Not hard for you, maybe!

Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Bryan Hix on April 13, 2011 at 10:30 PM

Very nice Ron. Everything is spot on.

Registered on June 13, 2008, 117 Posts, 755 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on April 13, 2011 at 11:13 PM

A beauty Ron. The exposure is perfect and the detail excellent.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on April 13, 2011 at 11:51 PM

Sweet flight shot Ron

Excellent details and nicely balanced comp.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on April 13, 2011 at 11:57 PM

great wing position (very graceful looking for such a huge bird) and really nice blacks and whites, Ron. DOF is super also. comp is just perfect for me. very nicely done.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on April 14, 2011 at 1:17 AM

Very nice and great exposure.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Murali Santhanam on April 14, 2011 at 3:48 AM

Lovely. The Pelicans are delight to watch. Yes, the colors look better in RGB profile.

Registered on July 31, 2008, 43 Posts, 331 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on April 14, 2011 at 6:02 AM

I agree with you Ron an excellent inflight capture. I like the angle of the body and turn.... good job!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on April 14, 2011 at 8:47 AM

Wonderful feather detail and exposure, Ron. The pose works great, particularly with the angle of what must have been rather harsh light. My only very minor nit is I would wish the bird had turned it's head slightly more toward the viewer. I get the feeling it's turning away from me. Thanks for the inadvertent opportunity to compare sRBG with Adobe RBG. I would never have picked up on it if you hadn't reposted.

Registered on February 13, 2006, 166 Posts, 1818 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on April 14, 2011 at 11:34 AM

This is a gorgeous image of the american white pelican Ron! Great pose, light, comp, sharpness and detail. I especially like how well exposed the whites are and the great light in the pelican's eye. Head angle looks fine to me. Well done!

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

Comment posted by Darren Colello on April 14, 2011 at 1:10 PM

Wow Ron, this is awesome. I really like the detail, colours and pelican pose. Great work!!!

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on April 14, 2011 at 7:24 PM

Terrific techs, Ron. The wing position makes a smooth arc, a soothing visual.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on April 14, 2011 at 9:24 PM

I find it quite amazing how you were able to obtain just the right exposure to yield such nice detail in the whites and lighter colors here, Ron, while preserving the very high shutter speed and low ISO.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on April 15, 2011 at 3:11 PM

Terrific pose, Ron. Great wingspread, good details on both blakc and whites, wing to wing sharpness all make this another exceptional image. The progile shot of the head also adds a lot to this. Thanks for sharing this.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on April 15, 2011 at 7:24 PM

Exposure is spot on here!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on April 16, 2011 at 10:07 AM

Really like the flight posture here Ron. Framing, sharpness, DOF and exposure all excellent and I always appreciate a well processed image with the bird against a background like this that doesn't exhibit a halo. I'm fine with the head position. A very strong image IMO.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on April 24, 2011 at 8:14 PM

I like the wings position & POV of the bird..You must have a superior vantage point to shoot from?
How close is the bird to the water? One can just see the subtle difference in the two color spaces, thanx for posting that.
Anyway, looks excellent Ron, no nits from me

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