Photo Story: White Pelican in the Warm Morning Light

I arrived at Fisherman’s Corner South just before sunrise to photograph White Pelicans flying over the Mississippi.  It was a clear sunny morning and the light was  warm and saturated.

White Pelican in Flight Photograph

I was lucky enough to have this White Pelican fly by while the sun was still low in the sky.  The bird was front lit giving him the warm color.

Photographing birds in flight in lower lighting conditions can be a tricky task.  The major challenges with low light bird photography are keeping a high enough shutter speed and getting sharp photos of the bird.

Tips for Sharper Birds in Flight Photography

• Use a sturdy tripod and a gimbal type head for easy panning
• Raise your ISO to get faster shutter speeds.  Keep a constant eye on your shutter speed in the viewfinder.  This is where a full frame camera can help as they get better image quality at higher ISOs.
• Remember that your shutter speed will drop if the bird is lower in the sky and has a darker background (trees, etc.).
• Open your aperture to get faster shutter speeds. However, if you open your aperture too much the entire bird may not be in focus.
• You will need to use an even smaller aperture (f/11 or smaller) to get multiple birds flying together in focus.
• Use AI Servo / Continuous Focus Mode for birds in flight.
• Use High Speed or Continuous Shutter modes to get higher frames per second.  This will increase your odds of getting shots in focus, but you’ll have a lot more photos to sort through when you get home.

White Pelican in Flight Photo Details

Camera:  Canon 5d Mark iii
Lens:   Canon 500 mm f/4 + 1.4x Teleconverter
Focal Length:  700mm
ISO:  800
Aperture:   f/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/1000 of a second
Exposure Compensation: 1/3
Lighting: Sunny Morning

White Pelican Photo Processing

• Cropped the photo in Lightroom 5.
• Reduced noise in the photo using the Noise Reduction Luminance slider in Lightroom 5.
• Used Viveza 2 from the Nik Collection to selectively lighten, darken, and add saturation to the photo.
• Added detail and contrast pop to the image using the Fur and Feathers II filter in Topaz Clarity.
• Used Topaz DeNoise and a Layer Mask in Photoshop CC to selectively remove the noise from the photo.
• Selectively sharpened the image using the Unsharp filter and a layer mask in Photoshop CC.

Written by Martin Belan

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