Pelican at Sunset on South Padre Island
From my collection on South Padre Island. This Pelican was flying by when we were at dinner. I was lucky enough to have my camera up.
You can see...
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From my collection on South Padre Island. This Pelican was flying by when we were at dinner. I was lucky enough to have my camera up.
You can see my collection at https:--photo.dirkdmyers.com-p352988651
Read less
You can see my collection at https:--photo.dirkdmyers.com-p352988651
Read less
Nov, 2020Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
He flew right across the sunset where we were eating. I am just glad I had my camera ready at the time he flew by! The Restaurant is called Louie's Backyard, and in addition to great food, the view at sunset is breathtaking. We love the beach, but South Padre Island was incredibly special.Time
The sunset fell close to 6:30 that night, and it was our last night on the island. I have several shots of the sunset in a collection I set aside on my portfolio site at http://photo.dirkdmyers.com. It is entitled Sunset at SPI. You can also see additional shots of South Padre Island and Port Isabella in my South Padre Island Collection.Lighting
I was pretty much in awe of the sunset the whole time it occurred. We went to the restaurant a couple of days before and it was overcast. The food was great so we went back on our last night. The weather was amazing! We couldn't have been any happier with the lighting God provided. Everything you see in that collection is a reflection of the natural colors that broke over the ocean that night.Equipment
My Nikon D5600 has been a great camera for me.I actually used the Nikkor 18-55 kit lens that came with the camera. I didn't have time to set up the gear. I shot these without a tripod. It was a pretty simple shot right from the table we were sitting at.Inspiration
Like I mentioned before, we were a little disappointed by the weather earlier in the week, but we certainly made plenty of memories with whatever weather we had. The last night was pretty special as far as the sunset was concerned. My inspiration was simply the atmosphere that surrounded me, and the time I had to spend with my fiance that week in South Padre. I was just trying to take any opportunity to make images that reflected the vacation. To read about my experience at South Padre Island please check out this link to my Photo Journal: https://photo.dirkdmyers.com/blog/2020/7/south-padre-island---all-we-wanted-and-moreEditing
I really didn't want to cheat the experience. There was a little dust I had to deal with, but other than that the natural coloring is reflected in this picture. When I am given a natural light show I certainly don't want to cheat the experience by messing with it too much in post.In my camera bag
Since I was on vacation I didn't carry a full gear bag. I had my Nikon D5600, two Nikkor lenses (an AF-P 18-55, and an AF-P 70-300). I kept a mini tripod with me as well. Unfortunately, the airline we flew with made it difficult to bring anything extra.Feedback
The best advice I can give you is not to mess with the pure beauty of nature when it gives you amazing natural lighting. Sometimes folks just do too much in post-editing and mess with the overall awesomeness of nature. I am not a huge effects guy in situations like this. Purity and simplicity is a virtue in photography that is often forgotten. It is also much easier to use it for stock purposes if you don't over-edit the offering your camera gives you naturally.
