PREPARING FOR SPRING

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

The pelicans have returned to the Yakima River. These are part of several others that settled in behind the Rosa Dam for a couple hours. Usually they stay in an area a short time and move on. I waited for them to do their spiral take off but they out waited me. Perhaps another day.

Specific Feedback

Is it too closely cropped? Whites are tough for me to deal with. How are they here? The crop, mostly from sides and top is about 60% of original.

Technical Details

7DII; 1/4000th; 5.6; 1250 ISO; landscape; hand held; some noise reduction and sharpening.

Hi Jim,

What a nice composition!
I really like how they are all in a line with the center one’s head reaching above the rest.
Awesome reflection and the exposure looks spot on to me.
I like the tight crop, and the color of the water nicely contrasts the white of their feathers.

I may be wrong but aren’t those little fleshy flags on their beaks for attracting a mate during mating season?
I’ve read where those little beak flags fall away after they’ve mated but I may have misunderstood.
I’ve also read that only white pelicans have those flags, not sure if that’s correct either.

Very nice image, well done! :slight_smile:

Very good, Jim. I do like the composition and all the preening poses. I could see a touch more space on the sides. To me, the whites could stand bringing up a touch.

Awesome image, Jim. Great collection of pelicans. And each one is doing something slightly different. Adds to the interest of the image. Well done.

Hi Jim, nice capture showing a lot of interest with the preening birds working away on themselves. I could see raising exposure some and adding room on sides and bottom. However this is a fine image as presented.

This is wonderful! Beautiful story of all the poses, the reflection, and being in the line. Great detail in the whites and I love how the orange eyes and interesting beaks pop out! If you have room I would pull out the crop a tiny bit…maybe the width of a pelican on either side?

@Allen_Sparks @Dennis_Plank @Robena.Sirett @Merv @David_Bostock Thanks for the helpful comments. I do have some space on the left and bottom. There was another pelican on the right that I cropped out very close to it. The white probably could be brought up a bit.

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