Pelican coming in for a landing...by
RitaDComment by jaysonmc: Just a quick comment, since I was one of the three people who gave you a four I thought I would elaborate. First off, you did amazing things with the frame here the lines are well collected. Of course it is a crop, and a very well decided and educated crop, but cropping just nicks off a point to me.
Now, the main reasons I knocked you down. Yes, the action is superb, do I think the shot was difficult. Mmm not really. Of course I base this on alot of assumptions, what camera you are using, what lens, etc... That stuff you don't know while voting. Back to simplicity though, it just isn't hard to get a pelican to do this. Just go to the pier/lake (if you have pelicans in your area) and throw some rocks/food into the water. It's not a "difficult" shot to setup. If the pelican had a fish or was doing some strange maneuver it would be a different story.
The real point is I saw this shot as a fairly easy setup (when it comes to wildlife). As such I think the seagulls are major minuses. Especially the one emnating from the rear. If I would have deemed this a difficult type shot than I would have more understanding for the pooping seagull. The same goes with the background, I don't like how it splits the bird's body in half. Like I said it all depends on the context of the shot.
Lastly, I had a problem with focus. It is more or less sharp, but has a strange edge to it. Almost like you had IS on while mounted on a tripod. Then I think there was just a bit too much sharpening done in post, because the inner feathers have halo-ing. It's not bad but it made me notice.
I do love the lighting though. Also, like I said I love the pose of the pelican just not the composition as a whole.
I know, this was a bit over-critical, just giving you a ring why I scored this a four. However, a congrats still goes out for the wonderful finish. Obvisiously others saw the magic in this photo where I missed it.
Message edited by author 2007-01-30 19:42:53. 
