Photo Updated
I was out at a small area where these birds like to come to almost year-round in Apple Valley CA. I was practicing birds in flight and caught this one on a landing.
Type of Critique Requested
- Aesthetic: Focusing on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
- Conceptual: Focus on the message and story conveyed by the image.
- Technical: Focus on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I cropped most of the background out of the photo with the brush but left just a little to show the water’s edge.
Technical Details
R7 EF 100-400 at 375mm f/11 1/1000 ISO 800.
The action, detail and composition are all good for my taste, Dean. However the harsh light didn’t do you any favors with the whites looking pretty blown out. When I’m shooting in full sun, I’ll find something white that’s in the sun and adjust my exposure so that white isn’t quite blown out (if you’re shooting raw, you can let it just touch the edge of the histogram, since that’s based on a jpg version). That way you’ll be able to maintain detail in the whites and even bring them down a bit in post processing.
Thank you for the feedback, @Dennis_Plank. I agree about the whites. I always shoot in raw but the whites really came out too strong. I will be there all week next week so I will try this again. I will take your suggestions and adjust my settings on the pelicans on the water and looking at the histogram in the camera.
I went back to see if I could lower the whites using Select Color Range in PS. It might have helped a little. That said getting the shot right in the field is always best.
I love the water ski action of this landing and the span of its wings! So fun to capture a landing like this. The crop works for me as the top gives me information about where it is landing. I appreciate @Dennis_Plank suggestions about whites…always a challenge for me.
I like the landing pose and the splash of water and the bit of the environment in the background. I’ll echo Robena’s statement that white’s are a challenge in these settings. I wonder how this would look if the beak was darkened or given a bit more saturation.
