Pelicans
On they're way to go fishing the pelicans cruised over head every day. I applied an X-ray filter
On they're way to go fishing the pelicans cruised over head every day. I applied an X-ray filter
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Jan, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Pacific Beach, San Diego, Ca. I have always been fascinated by the graceful motion of pelicans in flight. I saw them and I took the shot as they passed overhead on their way to their next fishing expedition. I used a tool in Lightroom called Infrared Effect to give the image more drama.Time
Early in the morning while I was enjoying my coffee and the parade of early risers walking along the sidewalk between the beach and our hotel. My camera was on and ready because I was prepared for something interesting to stroll by when I saw them drifting overhead. I was able to get the shot as they passed by.Lighting
Early morning light at the beach is clear. Later in the day it becomes more diffuse with moisture coming from the surf.Equipment
This was taken with my Olympus E-5 and the 12-60 zoom. The zoom was likely at max. I always keep my camera on Aperture Priority with the stop on f8. Hand held pointing nearly straight overhead, I tracked them like a hunter. I keep a polarizing filter on the lens most of the time to protect it and I liked the richness of the colors. You lose half an f stop but it doesn't seem to matter.Inspiration
It is not uncommon to set up for an image you have in your mind and wind up getting an opportunity to take some thing else. Once I drove a hundred miles to take foliage shots and the traffic made me late. A storm was coming in and it got dark before I could get to the fall foliage. I managed to get a terrific image of the sunset just before the storm clouds rolled in. I guess the key to taking good photos is to see what is interesting and fire away. Nothing happens while you are overthinking it.Editing
Normally I like images to appear as though there was no post-processing. Things like infrared effects are not my thing, This shot languished in my catalog for a time until one day I sought to give it some pizazz. I experimented with a number of techniques before stumbling across this one. It came to life on my screen like magic.In my camera bag
I have moved on from my trusty E-5 and converted my equipment to mirrorless 4/3rds. This makes it possible to have very fast OMD lenses and use the best of my Canon lenses from my film years. I still have a couple of excellent Zuiko ED lenses as well. I use a mailbag and I set it up with the lenses I want to use for my next adventure. When I was younger, My first choice would have been a long telephoto. Now I use a lot of prime lenses. I keep a 12-40 f2.8 pro on the camera( Olympus OMD Em1 mk1 at all times. I use 17mm and 12 mm prime lenses a lot. When I want more reach I grab my 75mm f1.8 lens or my 75-300 zoom. I carry extra freshly charge batteries, and extra sd card, dusting cloth and brush, and a flash (which I never use), a tripod(rarely use) and an assortment of filters. I carried a light meter for many years, but the in camera meters are so good and you can spot meter with them. I used to carry cables to download images to my laptop but today's now you have built in wi-fi. I transfer images to my iPad right away because I can see what I have better with the large screen. The iPad slips right into my mailbag.Feedback
Always keep extra batteries handy. When I am wandering about, I like to keep the camera on and ready. I always keep the lens hood on to protect the lens. Practice taking just the camera with a single prime lens. I use a 25mm f 1.8 (50 mm 35 equivalent). It makes you less conspicuous and more mobil. You can ride the light rail and take street shots with amazing candid results. You never know when a simple shot is going to pop up in front of you. If all you have to do is point and hold the camera steady while you squeeze off the shot, you have a much better chance of capturing something special.
