Brown Pelican, Anna Maria Pier.
One of my favorite birds is the Pelican with their spectacular dives, bill first, into the water. Or when they are gliding just above the water with the occasional wingbeat that may briefly touch the sea. Awkward in their take offs and landings, they provide me great entertainment in the water, in or out, such as this fellow as he cleans and straightens up his feathers preparing to rest.
Brown Pelican diving at Anna Maria Island.
One of my favorite places to capture my favorite bird, the Pelican, is on Anna Maria Island. Oftentimes there are many parents and juveniles, hunting and diving for food off one of the piers, as they were in the above image. The juveniles are similar to the adults, but have a brown neck and head with a grayish bill. I love watching their take offs and awkward landings. Sadly, I noticed one juvenile had some fishing line flowing off his foot when in the air. Not good.
I thought for the ‘Starburst’ challenge, I would cheat! To shoot successful sun flares and starbursts, one needs to use a narrow aperture such as f/22 and for best effects, something physically blocking part of the sun, like the horizon or buildings or trees. I have practiced a bit in the past but with the holidays upon me, I’ve had little time to get out and capture a starburst. So …. as I said, I cheated. I used a great iPhone app called LensLight which has a wide selection of interactive lights such as bokeh, lens flares, light leaks and sunbursts. I don’t use it often, but on the few occasions, it can really pop an image. I hope you think so too.
Happy Holidays, friends.
Reena Walkling 