A Brown Pelican

This pelican just waited till I got within 40 feet before flying off.

Handheld shot (obviously), Your thoughts and comments are always

welcome. Thanks for looking.

Hi Holger,

  Wonderful capture with beautiful colors, lighting & details.  Take care, Patsy

He posed beautifully. Love his colouring and excellent clarity!

A very nicely composed beautiful shot, Holger!

 

nice capture, good focusing and bokeh

I love this image! I had a relative who lived in Tampa/Saint petersberg area, and he used to say that he was reincarnating as a pelican because they eat fish and do it often! Warm regards.

I'm not so sure about this image.  It seems too dark overall, the colors are muted, there is no real contact with the eye or eye highlight, and what's with the strong vignetting?  A rather ordinary shot of a common bird just sitting there.  Nothing really terribly special about it.

 

Dennis

I disagree with Dennis. I find the muted colors suit the image well, kind of getting tired of almost every image having it's saturation pushed to limits of good taste (and yes I'm aware that I often am guilty of doing it myself). And the exposure is perfect in my humble opinion, there's a high level of detail shown. While the vignetting is strong it doesn't interfere whatsoever with the image, some may even prefer it that way as it focuses the attention on the subject.  And while this may not be a terribly difficult image to capture, I find it's appeal in it's simplicity and excellent execution.

Simply beautiful!! (7)

Cheers

Great portrait, almost looks like a bust on a mantelpiece. Nice DOF and bokeh.

Holger, the exposure seems correct to me. I like the way the white and brown of the head work against the muted sky. The vignetting seems to be a personal preference, and I go through phases when I use it in my own work, it seems to work well here and particularly enhances the white of the head. 

Thank you all for taking the time to look and comment on this image. I really do appreciate your efforts. Tony the reason for the vignetting which I don't normally use this much was as you put it to enhance the white of his head and draw attention away from the incredibly bland sky that day. This shot was taken while on vacation in Florida and I don't consider this a rather common or ordinary bird Dennis. Viewed larger you can see he is looking right at me. Again thank you all for your comments.

Holger

Nice capture.  Very sharp with a lot of details.  Best Regards,

These guys always look so aristocratic, or at least they seem to think they are ;-).  A very good shot and presentation...  Mike

Impressive bird. Nice zoomed shot, Holger; well-positioned. An upload with a few tweaks in LR3.4 - just another possibility...

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Mike I agree they do have a certain royal look about them. Rajat thanks for the extra effort, and I like it, yours is a little lighter and reveals a bit more detail. I appreciate your time. Wanghan I'm glad you like it.

Holger

Nicely silhouetted, transforming the bird into a piece of street theater.

What a handsome Pelican, Holger. I am fascinated by these birds and always love seeing them when we travel South. This is a fine capture. The lighting seems fine to me. I am amazed at the number of fish they can catch at one time. Well done!

a great pic in many ways.  the mixture of sharp and blurry is well chosen.  best, jamie

like♥♥♥ regards,Pekka :)

Definately not a bird that I would consider "ordinary" or "common" in fact I've never seen one other than in a Zoo.  It really does have a regal look and and I think this is accentuated by the prominent position of the bird in relation to the blurred skyline beyond. I can see why you would use the dark vignetting too, a plain sky can be a nightmare. I wonder how it would have looked with a light vignetting? The colours are natural and well communicated and there is a great deal of detail in the plumage. To summarise I think you have done a great job, I might have left a touch more space above his head, or possibly used portrait orientation?

Well done Holger!

 

Best Regards

 

Alf

Beautiful shot of this majestic bird. Light and composition are excellent in this this.

Just great to hear from all of you. Alf, as usual thanks for your continued support and helpful comments. Birte it's always great to hear from you, especially with your busy schedule. Jeff thank you for stopping by, I value your comments with all your experience. Pekka, thank you for stopping by. Mr. Kraft its always a pleasure to hear from you, I respect your thoughts and opinions and your time. Again thank you all for looking and commenting.

Holger

Very Good capture (6)

Hi Holger,

Excellent capture.......Best Regards, KA