Brown Pelican Diving

Welcome to NPN and the Avian Forum, Gordon.  This is a great place to learn and a community of very nice folks.  I really like the pose and angle you caught this Pelican at-it's extremely dynamic and purposeful looking.  The exposure looks good and detail is pretty good, though I think I'd experiment with just a bit more sharpening on the bird.  For future reference, the more information you supply about how the image was captured and processed, the more intelligent people can be about their comments and suggestions.  At a minimum, it's helpful to know camera, lens, focal length, f-stop, shutter speed, and iso.  Other things like exposure mode, metering mode and AF parameters, and what kind of light you had can be nice in particular situations.  For processing, it helps to know the software being used and whether you've cropped the image and how much.  Some people skimp on this information and others are pretty thorough, but the more you supply the better the comments.

This is a really excellent first post, and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Many thanks Dennis for your welcome and advice - much appreciated.
(My first post as you correctly spotted)

Was taken with canon 7Dmk2 + 600mm f5 1/8000 sec ISO 400 aperture priority, partial exp.
Minimal crop in photoshop

I worry about oversharpening my images,but will give it another try
Thanks again for having a look

Grat feather detail and the eye really stands out nicely.  I've tried this, and it's not easy.  Good job.

Welcome to NPN, Gordon!

Great catch and great first post.  (Good to see the tech details in your comment, too.)  I know what you mean about sharpening; some people like more than others.  I tend to like all the detail I can get, but some members have told me I have over-sharpened at times.  It's a balancing act, and sometimes you can't please everyone, so you have to go with what looks best to you.  Same thing goes for cropping.  I tend to like more space around the subject for action shots like this, but it's a matter of taste. 

Looking forward to seeing more of your work and reading your comments.

Welcome Gordon,

Really nice first post, I like how it's head is cocked to the side like it's trying to line up on something. A little more room all around would benefit the image I believe. But like Wayne said a lot of this is subjective to the individuals taste that's doing the critique. That's what makes this process work, you just have to sort out what you think makes sense for you. Looking forward to seeing more.

Really a nice capture Gordon!  Love the pose, background, composition and you even managed some eye contact.  Looking forward to seeing more of your work.