Early Bird: A Brown Pelican at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area

Yosemite Valley, the Grand Canyon, and Brown pelicans diving. Things everyone should see. The Salton Sea State Recreation Area is in the southern California desert, can often smell quite bad, and has a lot of fish — Tilapia. So there are birds, especially in the migration season. And just for photographers, they're often within 50 feet or less from the shore.

I could have gotten lower for the POV except for the heavy metals and rotting fish.

I slept on a nearby beach one night for the morning light on the eastern shore. It worked. This Brown pelican was curious about my noisy camera.



Canon 1DX, 500mm f/4 IS, 1.4X TC III for 700mm.
1/2000, r/5.6, ISO 320.
Tripod mounted.
Bumped up the shadows and clarity a bit in LR. Nik Dfine NR on the background, unsharp mask on the bird in PS.

Looked closely for spots.
I'm concerned about the square aspect, but it seemed to fit the subject.
Thanks.

I think this looks really, really nice Jim.

The golden light really shines with these Brown Pelicans.

You did a real nice job with having the pelican looking right at you with those
eyes.

I wouldn't worry about getting lower, what you have here is just fine. What's
nice about the larger lenses, like the 500 and 600 is it gives the viewer a feeling
that you're lower than you really were.

The only thing I would do, is remove the two lower reflections...or maybe just
crop above those two reflections and see what you have there. I wouldn't take
anything off the top. Plus, with him coming at a very slight angle, I also think
the space on the left and right are fine.

Doug

Hey, Doug, thank you for taking the time to stop by and comment on my photograph. What you wrote is of considerable value. I'll go back and make the change(s) you suggested. Not certain yet which direction I'll go: remove the reflections or crop.

Again, many thanks.

By the way, I stopped by your website and am a big fan of your closeups of what I think of as songbirds. I've been working on a series I made at the Palo Duro Canyon in Texas.

JIm, Nice shot of an immature brown pelican, try adding a bit more f-stop to get more of the bird in focus.
I would prefer a better HA but that's just me, you're doing much better. Keep up the good work.

-Tim

Hi Jim Love the shot I do agree with Doug getting rid of two lower reflections,as they add nothing to the photo. I love the early morning colors on the bird and color on the water. Nice soft light.

Doug and Kevin, I'm not certain about what is meant by the two lower reflections. Do you mean about 1/4-3/8" below the bird's beak? That seems a bit tight to me. But then I'm learning.

The two reflections from the bottom. They're pretty much right across from
your watermark.

Doug

Ah. Thanks, Doug. You and Kevin are correct. Those lower reflections were superfluous. Detracting. I think learning to do is mostly about learning to see. Thanks for the help. I trust this is what you meant.

Ahhhhh, yes! That's it!

Doug