Tchefuncte Pelican

[Tom Gresham]

No, a Tchefuncte (Cha funk ta)Pelican isn't a new species. It's a brown pelican on the Tchefuncte River, which flows into Lake Pontchartrain, just north of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The colors in the water are a combination of a bit of sunset, but mostly brightly-colored boats behind the pelican.  That, plus a slight bump up in saturation.

This was the shot that really showed me what the D800 could do.  When I looked at the water droplets in the air, I was amazed. 

D800, Nikkor 300mm f/4 AF-S. Handheld from a small but stable boat. 

[elsa hoffmann]

Beautiful capture. I understand the brown pelican is one of the largest species of pelican.
A beautiful bird and great composition and colour.
We only have the white ones.

[Jakov Minić]

The colors are special, especially the blues

[Anthony]

Spectacular, the colours, sharpness, detail, composition.

[Tom Gresham]

Thanks for the kind words.  I don't use that lens often, but I sure like what it does.

[Mongo]

brilliantly colourful and detailed. great image.

[tommiejeep]

Tom, that is quite the superb image.  I rarely print bird images but I would sure as heck print this one.  More of a work of art than just a bird image  .

No Pelicans where I live  but even if there were, I would probably not get a shot like this  .
Many thanks for sharing.
Tom

[Frank Fremerey]

looks like metal ... copper coating? fascinating effect. Postproduction? Light?

[Peter Connan]

Absolutely beautiful.

[armando_m]

Wonderful image!

It is a while since I have wanted to try the 300 afs , I do not know of anyone that doesn't like it, although I will also use it very seldom

[Nick Scavone]

Tom,

What kind of flash did you use on this photo? I must say I am not a fan of flash, but you seemingly have toned it down so that it is not too pronounced. I like the photo.

Cheers,

Nick

[Tom Gresham]

Nick, there was no flash.  All I would have had is the popup on the D800, and the bird was too far for that.  This image is a significant crop -- maybe as much as half the original frame.  It was just one of those moments when the light worked.  Wish I could have planned or directed it, but I just happened to be there when it did.

[Jørgen Ramskov]

Wow, great capture and those colors!