Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
My husband and I were exploring southern Wyoming a couple summers ago, and after giving up on finding a certain BLM campground, we went on to a tiny place called Saratoga, that happens to have a very small reservoir just outside the town limits. We parked our teardrop camper next to the lake that night. The next morning, I was up before the sun (call of nature, not planning photography!) and as I came back, I noticed movement on the lake, but it was like phosphorescence, not anything I could identify. I watched for some time and finally, with a bit more light and the spots moving closer to me, I realized that it was a flock of white pelicans feeding. The sun started to rise and I could tell it was going to be wonderful, but most of the flock flew away just before it rose enough for the light to hit the lake. I ended up standing on top of a very rickety picnic table to get enough height above the shoreline reeds, and finally this last guy leisurely swam near enough for a couple of shots.
Specific Feedback
I ended up cropping this to 8x10 to remove some dead space in front of the bird and have him swimming toward the edge to preserve the wake and the beautiful gold and orange behind him. Both the foreground and the background are pretty OOF due to the wide aperture used (I completely forgot to raise the ISO to give myself more options!).
Technical Details
Canon EOS 7D Mark II, f 7.1, 1/80, ISO 200, handheld