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Pelicans on the Trinity
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
This is the first in a series of photos taken at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge on 12/14/06. Today was my first visit. I was excited to see White Pelicans, Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Mallards, Coots, and Cormorants along the Trinity River from my vantage point on the boardwalk in this wetlands habitant.
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
American White Pelicans are gregarious birds, often associated with Double-crested Cormorants. A flock of migrating American White Pelicans is a majestic sight-a long line of ponderous birds, flapping and coasting. Each bird seems to take its cue from the one in front of it, beginning to flap and starting a glide when its predecessor does. These birds ride rising air currents to great heights, where they soar slowly and gracefully in circles.
These birds are more buoyant than Brown Pelicans and do not dive for their food. They cooperate to surround fish in shallow water, scooping them into their pouches. They take in both water and fish, and then hold their bills vertically to drain out the water before swallowing the food.
Because of pesticides, human disturbance, and the draining of wetlands, this species is in decline. The number of active colonies has dropped sharply in recent decades.
Description: 55-70" (1.4-1.8 m). W. 8' (2.4 m). A huge white bird with a long flat bill and black wing tips. In breeding season, has short yellowish crest on back of head and horny plate on upper mandible. Young birds duskier than adults.
Source: http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=BD0174
Note: I am still having difficulty photographing white birds without over-exposing them and under-exposing their environment. As you can see, I used f5.6 and a shuter speed of 1/1000s. The ISO was set to 400. It was a sunny and mid-day. This combination allowed me to under-expose by about 1/3 on the meter in the view finder.
I wonder if it would help if I try a higher ISO such as 640 or 800? I am still learning. |
JPlumb, Alex99 has marked this note useful
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Hi Ken, I've played around some with your picture. I think the composition is good and the colour is good, but you are fighting with a huge range in exposure from the dark bush to the white birds. Also your back birds seem to be in better focus than your front birds. The large aperture (F5.6) might be affecting you there. I've created a workshop to show you some options.
Thanks, John
- Alex99
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3584 W: 143 N: 5669]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(18531) - [2006-12-15 14:17]
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Hi Ken.
It is a standard situation. I think, it is necessary to be guided by white tone. UE is less dangerous the OE. It is necessary to use a spot metering mode. Dark sites is possible to correct by PS. In this picture it was desirable to keep the nearest group of swans in focus, having transferred a point of focus on it or to use smaller value of aperture for larger DOF. In RAW format it is easier to enter amendments into the image.
My best wishes and TFS,
Alexei.
