Pelicans are so cool!!

largelylivin

Over the past couple of years I've got shots of Brown Pelicans flying by. After a hundred or so shots that gets a bit boring. However, a few weeks ago I discovered where they ago when they want to rest-up. All of the spots except this one require you to abandon your boat and walk in close to a mile in knee deep water and sand. Fortunately this spot only requires you to navigate up current in 2 feet of water and then drift backwards, taking pictures while getting bounced by the bottom and the waves. Lots of blurry pics but the birds don't seem to mind.

ANYWAY, Pelicans have so much character and interesting behavior that I can't think of a more interesting bird to photograph.

Question: Has anyone witnessed the behavior of Pelicans rubbing beaks? First I saw a Mother and juvie doing it, like they're scratching each other. THEN I witnessed one doing it with a cormorant. Regardless, they a quite friendly with the other birds and seem to be a bit of an attraction.


These were all taken with a Pentax K20D, DA*300/F4 and Tamron 1.4 TC.

Mother and juvie.



No, there aren't any PS or Mac truck effects going on here. When he dropped his head it looked pretty normal for a Pelican.



I call this lucky shot "Taking Bows".

Darren Troy C

Are these really large crops? The mid-afternoon light makes them really harsh as well as the images are VERY noisy.

alexf

I am lucky that I can shoot pelis all day long at my local fishing jetty. No TC needed for BIF either.

These are interesting poses but the shots are noisy, not crisp (you may need faster shutter speed or a monopod or some support), and the light is harsh which makes it tougher.

The last one is too hot on the whites and a tad overexposed.

largelylivin

A tripod was out of the question, I was literally bouncing from the waves and the boat hitting the bottom. Most of the photos were further out of focus than these. A better location would solve a lot of problems.

This is great. If I asked for a critique no one would have responded. AND you know pelicans! Tell me more and don't spare the rod.

Below is the whole frame.

These are about 80% crops ( i cropped away 80% of the frame). They are still a bit more noisey than I would expect. ISO 400, f6.7 at 1/350, +1/2 ev, Drange=200%, with image stabilzation. I gave it an extra 1/2 stop because I wanted to capture the detail in the shadows and with drange on I figured I could tame the hilights in Lightroom. The only spot touch-up is that I lightened the dark blue-grey area under their beaks to allow the color to show through.

alexf

I didn't realize it was shot from a boat. The distance, and heavy crop makes it tougher. Considering the conditions, the shots are not bad. The wider shot needs horizon leveling too.

Not to hijack your thread, but you can see my pelican gallery to see what I'm talking about.

largelylivin

Alex:
Yea, I was probably laying down when I took the that shot. Trying to time the shot with the bumpy ride.

1) What did you mean by "hot"? Too red or too bright?

2) Due to a complete lack of any bird lenses and a slow AF on Pentax, I am think seriously about changing to the Canon or Nikon camp. My wish list for Canon is a D50 or used D40, 100-400, 500 f4 with a 1.4 tc. Too bad you lose AF with the TC on the 100-400. I guess the equivalent Nikon system would be a d300, 80-400 (since I cannot afford a 200-400), 500 f4 and 1.4 TC.


I did some quick calculations and it looks like the Nikon system is going to cost a lot more than Canon. Its hard to stretch any further, when you can't really afford to do it in the first place.

Does that sound about right? Advice? Are there any decent 3rd party lenses for Nikons? I am constantly disappointed with the Sigma 50-500, but it may be different on the d300.

Darren Troy C

The new Sigma 120-400mm has its own image stabilization (called OS on the Sigma) and mine works great! I have used the Nikon 80-400 and they discontinued that beast for a reason! Very heavy, VERY slow! I shoot with a D300 and the Sigma pairs up extremely well with the cam. It can be a bit slow if you're light isn't good but that can cometimes be compensated by with different settings such as aperture and ISO.

alexf

largelylivin wrote:

Yea, I was probably laying down when I took the that shot. Trying to time the shot with the bumpy ride.

1) What did you mean by "hot"? Too red or too bright?

2) Due to a complete lack of any bird lenses and a slow AF on Pentax, I am think seriously about changing to the Canon or Nikon camp. My wish list for Canon is a D50 or used D40, 100-400, 500 f4 with a 1.4 tc. Too bad you lose AF with the TC on the 100-400. I guess the equivalent Nikon system would be a d300, 80-400 (since I cannot afford a 200-400), 500 f4 and 1.4 TC.


I did some quick calculations and it looks like the Nikon system is going to cost a lot more than Canon. Its hard to stretch any further, when you can't really afford to do it in the first place.

Does that sound about right? Advice? Are there any decent 3rd party lenses for Nikons? I am constantly disappointed with the Sigma 50-500, but it may be different on the d300.

Brad,

Hot means whites are blown. Need to dial in some negative EV when shooting in those conditions. White birds/flowers/shirts on bright sun are tough to expose properly.

I can't speak for Canon (BTW that would be 40D/50D). I like and use Nikon. The 80-400VR is a very good lens, not discontinued, just not updated. It's IQ stopped down is superb. The problem it has is the AF is slow, being an old design (not AFS which is Nikon's name for internal motor). Therefore it is not recommended for BIF. It is my main zoo and planespotting lens. It is light for its size.

For birding and fast action I use the 300/4 AFS. A wonderful lens, fast and relatively light. Not as good as the 300/2.8 but less than half the price and weight.

Both take a TC (I have the Kenko 1.4) and AF with it. The 80-400VR does not take a Nikon TC.

Can't speak for the Sigma zoom you mentioned as I have not seen it. I have a Sigma 10-20mm and it is very well built and excellent IQ.

One way to decide, is to rent a lens/camera and see for yourself what you like. You can rent a Canon combo and then a Nikon combo. I went for Nikon. Easier to use. Better ergonomics. Easier menus. And Nikon has the ability to use older lenses because they have not changed the F-Mount in 50 years. Some of my best lenses (IQ-wise) and most fun to use are old manual lenses from the 1970s/80s bought for a song an a dance. They are manual and they meter in the D200 and up (called AI and AIS lenses). They do not meter but they work on the D40/D90 line. This alone would push me to the Nikon line.

I can point out many shots with my 300/4 in my gallery (actually most BIF there is 300/4) and also shots with the older AI MF lenses if you care to see their quality.