The Pelican Scan

Hi All,

Caught this Pelican scanning the water for fish. I was all prepared to catch the action... unfortunately [my bad luck] the pelican could not find any.. Hence had to satisfy with what it had to offer :).

Here for more C & C ....

Camera Model : Canon EOS 40D
Color Representation: sRGB
Shutter Speed: 1 / 8192 sec
Lens Aperture: F / 5
Focal Length: 190 mm
F-Number: F / 5
Exposure Time: 1 / 8000 sec
ISO Speed: ISO 640
Metering Mode: Spot
Exposure Program: Aperture Priority
Date Picture Taken: 21st Feb 2010
Lens Used: Sigma 70 - 300mm

A rare and amazing photo. The secret is you know about the pelican catch before taking this shot. Well done. :)

Bhargav, TFS.

A lovely capture, Bhargav. Nice composition. Just tone down the highlights on the back.
Thanks for sharing.

It is good that you got to see it from the front and close to you. I have seen this behaviour several times. I had shared one image earlier with the pelican appearing like a skimmer from the side. I have seen them flying and at times take a small jab at the water. Never seen them catching fish in this manner. Though I have seen them swimming and then suddenly jabbing at the water and catching a fish.

A slight tilt, can be corrected in post processing. Agree about the highlights. If you are shooting in evaluative, better to dial in a -2/3 exposure compensation, else the whites are likely to get blown.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

You have freezed the pelican nicely. The high shutter speed has helped, just thinking if a slight lower ISO would have worked. The composition is nice. Agree with Abhishek about recovering the details on its back. Could you get any more photographs with it getting into the water?

Hi All,

Thank you for all the C & C - it is helping me a lot in improving myself.

Mrudul: I could not get any shots of the pelican getting into the water (when on boat). but yes i did see it catching the fish earlier while i was waiting for the boat - hence i was prepared for the action..

I like the composition. The highlights as mentioned can be controlled a bit more along with the tilt correction. Thanks for Sharing.

Wow!!!!!!!