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Archive 2016 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

Brev00
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

I enjoyed shooting in La Jolla a couple of weeks ago. No lack of wildlife there especially pelicans in their winter plumage and sea lions enjoying the comfort of the cove and each other. The cormorants are not the most graceful of birds but that does make them enjoyable to watch.

Feb 03, 2016 at 12:49 PM

HarveyGold
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

This certainly shows what a pretty bird the pelican can be. Excellent job.

Feb 03, 2016 at 02:59 PM

surfnron
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

Very nicely done Laurence ~ Ron

Feb 03, 2016 at 04:46 PM

Brev00
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

Thank you Harvey and Ron for your kind words. Pelicans are a subject I enjoy. They are certainly large enough to fill the frame and are pretty easy to track while in flight. They tend to fly smoothly and predictably. Unfortunately, my hope that I would get a squadron of two or more in flight at once was not fulfilled. So, I will have to 'visit' my daughter, a freshman at UCSD, again soon.

Feb 04, 2016 at 12:47 AM

morris
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

Nice set Laurence

Morris

Feb 04, 2016 at 08:38 AM

phoenix7gtm
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

Nice set. #1 & 2 are superb.

~George.

Feb 04, 2016 at 10:41 AM

Brev00
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

Thank you Morris and George! I appreciate the comments.

Larry

Feb 05, 2016 at 03:00 PM

thomas_1950
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

Excellent set of images Larry. I am a sucker for the Pelicans as well. My favorites are the first two. The Sea Lion and Brown Pelican are most content. Nice job!

Feb 09, 2016 at 01:37 AM

OwlsEyes
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

I really like the tight sea lion portrait, as the line of the sloping head makes for a lovely composition.
I also think that your cormorant is a nice catch. If you could lift the shadow in the head a bit to get some separation from the wing, I think you will have a winner of a shot.

bruce

Feb 09, 2016 at 06:36 AM

Brev00
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

OwlsEyes wrote:
I really like the tight sea lion portrait, as the line of the sloping head makes for a lovely composition.
I also think that your cormorant is a nice catch. If you could lift the shadow in the head a bit to get some separation from the wing, I think you will have a winner of a shot.

bruce
Thanks so much for your detailed feedback. Nice that the sea lions gave me all day to compose! Not exactly action shots. I did lift the shadows somewhat with the cormorant shot and should revisit to see if more is possible. I was afraid of washing out the tones at the time That was a tricky one for me.

An additional edit:

The pelican and sea lion shot were much easier. I took two shots of this pelican. He barely moved in between and I was able to stop down to f8 which made a big difference. It is almost right out of the camera--just ACR conversion and light sharpening. But, really, I went to the cove to get some pelicans in flight. I am not a dedicated bird photographer so I thoroughly enjoy talking the opportunity when the birds present themselves. I considered this visit a chance to practice. So, here is one of the pelican in flight shots I took. Plus, a cormorant in which I tried to showcase his remarkable eyes. Obviously, easier to do when they are not in flight. Hopefully better separation from the more distant others.

Thank you for viewing!

Edited on Feb 10, 2016 at 10:36 AM · View previous versions

Feb 10, 2016 at 08:39 AM

RBark
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

The sea lion is really cute.

Feb 10, 2016 at 08:51 AM

Brev00
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Pelican, Sea Lion, Cormorant

RBark wrote:
The sea lion is really cute.

True indeed. There were so many sea lions laid out here and there all around, I found shooting this close avoided the problem of cropping them awkwardly on the edges of the frame. Here is a wider shot of a group (colony?). There were many such groups and there were also individuals swimming in the surf and moving along the rocks. Where there is a small beach, folks approached the sea lions quite close despite the several warning signs.