ashleysowter
FollowAn army of pelicans marches forth!
An army of pelicans marches forth!
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9669
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Awards
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Featured
Runner Up in Animal Faces In Black And White Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1
Contest Finalist in Animal Faces In Black And White Photo Contest
Macro LED Ring Light and More
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 28
Contest Finalist in Natural Clusters Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Love it
Virtuoso
Top Ranks
ashleysowter
April 14, 2015
Thank you! It was a great day to be out amongst the pelicans. The moody sky certainly helped
DeonG
April 08, 2015
Amazing image with great clarity and incredible tones! Welcome to the ViewBut community!
jodiparker_5877
May 04, 2015
wow, I would love to learn how to take such fantastic pictures ,,, good on you !
ashleysowter
May 13, 2016
Thanks very much mike. You have a lovely b&w shot of a lion in your portfolio. Congrats on that one
Mother_Nature
May 17, 2016
Congratulations, Excelent Capture great post production, textures and POV-thank you for sharing your work.
ConnieO
December 01, 2016
What can i say that hasnt already been said. This is amazing in every way. Thanks for sharing it with the world!!
cindybucholz
July 10, 2017
Are you familiar with NatGeoYourshot? Definitely has potential to be featured in their magazine!
UPbyVeronica
February 19, 2019
Normally I don't like B&W images but this picture is very captivating! Great capture!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This shot was taken on the NSW Central Coast in Australia. Every afternoon pelican feeding occurs there. This all started over 20 years ago by staff at the local fish shop, who would feed scraps to the pelicans every day. Then in 1996, The Entrance Town Centre Management built the feeding platform known as Pelican Plaza. They, in conjunction with the many sponsors and a wonderful team of volunteers, have made it possible to feed the pelicans whole fresh fish 365 days a year and make it the spectacle it is today.Time
The pelican feeding event starts at around 3.30pm each day. From memory it ran for about 15-20 minutes.Lighting
I was lucky with the lighting. The intense sky and cloud cover made for wonderful soft lighting as well as creating much of the atmosphere and mood for the final image.Equipment
This was taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III at 25mm, ƒ/9, 1/400s and ISO 125. I am 99% sure the lens was my Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II L Series lens. No flash and no tripodInspiration
I mostly take landscapes. My girlfriend is an animal photographer and wanted to go shoot the pelicans (so to speak). I do find pelicans particularly interesting and a bit evil looking (sorry guys!). As we were driving out there, the sky continued to get more and more ominous. I thought the sky would help make a much more interesting shot...or wash the whole thing out. I knew I was looking for a monochrome work here. The overcast sky, coupled with the black and white (evil looking) birds. It was really only in post processing that they reminded me of an evil army marching together and then I wanted to crop and process it with that in mind.Editing
Yes. From memory I processed this quite a bit. My photoshop skills are quite amateur. This was processed with PS and some Nik software as a plug in. I wanted to clean the birds feathers / uniform and further enhance the already ominous mood. Black and White was a givenIn my camera bag
Way too much! I need to go mirrorless! I always take my Canon 5d Mk3, 16-35mm f/2.8, Lee filters, Tripod and stuff (cleaning cloths etc). I often also have a flash and either my 85mm f/1.2 (I rarely use it but I love it!) or my 70-200 f/2.8.Feedback
Get amongst the action. I think one of the successes of this image is me and my camera being in the throng. Birds feathers were hitting me in the face from time to time (they are quite powerful!) and the smell of fish was strong. Get amongst it! Clearly the sky makes for a key ingredient too. Fill the frame with your objects (Natural clusters!). Try to find an angle or a shot that isn't a tourist shot. Take lots of shots (sorry film guys). I probably have 50+ shots of this event and with so many moving animals, composition is somewhat luck (well at my level it is). Good luck and have fun shooting