Description
Thousands of White Pelicans call Florida home in winter. While spending the Christmas week in Florida in Sebastian I really wanted a nice clean portrait of this big beautiful white bird floating on calm blue waters. I spent every morning at the Sebastian Inlet watching a whole flock of them sunning on the rocky jetty. They would always stick close together on the rocks rarely ever stepping into the water. So it was impossible to isolate them even with a 600mm lens. Even when one of them did, they would be too skittish. On Christmas morning I was doing some backlight work on a snowy egret on the jetty. From the corner of my eye I noticed this White Pelican isolated on one of the rocks and preening itself. Having just worked with another white subject on the jetty I knew the back light was just perfect but I would have to line the Pelican almost directly against the sun and that meant wading in the water with a 9 lb rig and no tripod. I decided to take the plunge. Walked a few feet in and stood in knee deep water for 40 mins until I finally got this feather ruffle shot. Its not the shot I wanted but the rim light outline and the ruffled feathers floating in the air with the bokeh in the background from the sun shining on the water makes this a perfect Pelican shot for me. After this little stunt my arms needed a ruffle and a stretch of their own but so worth it! This was my Christmas present.
Camera Specifications
Canon7DMarkII 600mm 1/2000 f/4
Species
American White Pelican
Location
Sebastian, Indian River, FL, USA
