Pelicans’ Buffet

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
1

Pelicans’ Buffet
Pelicans’ Buffet1600×1067 320 KB

This is pushing the limit for local, since per Google maps this park/preserve is 30.0 miles from my house. This was my first time to this specific spot to see what was there. There were swans, pelicans, and a few bald eagles. Part of the area was still iced over, and the pelicans were swimming and fishing quite close to shore. The light was very strong, but I liked how white everything appeared to my eyes.

Specific Feedback and Self-Critique

I got both sides of the light as the pelicans swam back and forth in front of me. I wanted to try a few shots on the bright side, even though technically it was more challenging and probably not the popular choice of light. :slight_smile:

I think at this point, I was specifically focused on the commotion that turned out to be a fish, but it was a bit hard to see and I can’t remember for sure. I wish the one with the fish was in the foreground, and of course making a bright image and controlling the highlights was a bit of a problem. Because the subject is facing more out of the frame, I’m hoping the pelican on the right that’s looking left draws the eye back in again to the action.

Technical Details

Single shot at around 400mm. I cropped it a little to bring more focus to the pelican with the fish while trying to find as clean of edges as possible (not half pelican bodies).

The processing here was a stretch for me. I did my usual basic exposure adjustments, but it just was feeling too dark compared to what I remembered. I tried a film style simulation that I bought for Capture One. Oddly enough, that one click did what I needed to restore the impression I had with my eyes. I didn’t really worry as much about the technicals like whether I’d clipped the highlights in the edit. I opted to prioritize the “feel”.

2 Likes
2

Karla, the bits of color and darkness scattered throughout the white look good. You’ve also caught the action nicely, especially with the fish hanging from that one Pelican’s beak. The few blown highlights are small enough that they don’t grab a lot of attention. One “fix” is to clone in some grey using a low opacity (say 15 - 20%), just enough to “take the edge” off, but not to turn them noticeably grey.

1 Like
3

Hi Karla, I like all the action and excitement you’ve captured here and I think the exposure and your adjustments are just about right. At first I had some trouble separating the pelican with the fish from the ones near him, then decided he was in a rather awkward position where his wings and neck seem out of place.

4

@Jim_Lockhart It is an awkward position and only got worse. :slight_smile: I think it had a bit of a struggle with the fish, but got it in the end. Thanks for your comments.

5

@Mark_Seaver Thanks for the tip on the highlights. Pulling them down can shift it away from 255, but maybe is not as smooth as cloning in a light gray. There are kind of some odd gradients in the OOF areas that are really bright. It’s worse on another one I have in the series.