Sentinel

[Kajuah]

EXIF data:

Time: 10:27 pm, July 13th, 2008
Make:Canon powershot sx100
Aperture: f/4.3
Shutter speed:1/40sec
Focal Length:60mm focal length (infinity)
exposure:0 step exposure bias
metering mode:spot metered on the pelican's white feathers
W/B:white balance is auto (it works the best, sue me)
Flash: Did not fire
ISO: 80

Cropped image. Added a psuedo sky in CS3. Little bit of contrast adjustment in Lightroom 1.4

Keep in mind the shutter speed is intentionally low to get the smooth water effect.

[Frog]

The pelican must have been standing very still as it appears sharp. The water does not appear over soft and the color and composition are good.
Only thing bothering me is the tops of the trees being cut off but don't know what you could do about that except to crop them off. Still a good pic with them cropped.

[Kajuah]

Thanks for the crit! I had previously received critique from another forum that said it looked a lot better like this than with the trees uncroppe, i disagreed but went with their suggestion and now I find myself liking it a lot better the way it was before ! Thanks for that realization that it's most imp. what you think before other people.

That said, i think i may try out your suggestion of cropping them out entirely, though, it's a shame to waste the scenary...so back to the way before I suppose (I have troubles making up my mind, as you can see)

[Greg McCary]

I like it. It is very different. The motion in the water with the crisp sharp pelican works well. The lighting and composition are also very good. Nice work.

[Frog]

I only suggested cropping the sky out because I figured maybe you didn't have the tree tops.
Would like to see the shot with them in. Either way its a great shot.

[Grandpaw]

Very nice shot. I like it cropped about a 1/2 to 1 inch above the water and eliminate the tree line all together, Jeff

[AgingEyes]

I would say leave the trees uncropped, darken the sky a bit more and sharpen the bird, esp the eye.