Peggy Nugent
July 2025 - Freedom in Flight
Original
Original 2
Original 3
About the Image(s)
It was so much fun to see loads of pelicans in flight in San Diego last month. I took a lot of photos with a slow shutter speed to try to capture the feeling of their flight.
I started with a crop of Original 1. I added Original 2 in Lighter mode, then a selection of the pelican from Original 3. I flattened the result and applied Filter=>Distort=>Spherize to emphasize the main pelican. I added the second part of Original 3 at 80% in Hard Light mode. I tried various color and brightness adjustments and finally settled on b&w.
10 comments posted
You have really captured the motion of the waves and the flying pelicans with your mixture of focus and blur. The composite seems to be a snapshot taken from a moving boat. Black and white is a good choice to communicate the consistency of the motion. I almost got seasick. :) Posted: 07/04/2025 18:24:11
Thanks, Alan!
I had not realized it when I had the color versions, but you're right, the b&w works to make all the motion work together. Keen observation! Posted: 07/05/2025 20:44:47
I had not realized it when I had the color versions, but you're right, the b&w works to make all the motion work together. Keen observation! Posted: 07/05/2025 20:44:47
Hi Peggy, I love the way you combined your pelican experience. The movement with the flying birds over the waves gives a mystical feeling. The Spherize distortion was a good choice. I often have trouble figuring out what type of warping I want to do and will have to keep this technique in mind. As you noted, it's a good way to highlight a main subject as you did with the front pelican. I'm not a huge fan of B&W, but your editing made it work well. I did notice the waves are bleeding into the front pelican wing if that is something you might not intended to do with your opacity. Very nice! Posted: 07/05/2025 16:17:23
Thanks, Matt!
I did notice that the main pelican's wing was partly obscured, but I decided to keep it because I felt it made it more integrated with the rest of the image. I do appreciate your pointing it out, because that's the sort of thing I often overlook. Posted: 07/05/2025 20:47:20
I did notice that the main pelican's wing was partly obscured, but I decided to keep it because I felt it made it more integrated with the rest of the image. I do appreciate your pointing it out, because that's the sort of thing I often overlook. Posted: 07/05/2025 20:47:20
Hi Peggy, what lovely sense of effortless glide over the waves! The birds with their wings in different phases of movement give the image extra dynamics. I cannot get enough of the sea and the sky and the light on the water. - The only thing I would like to suggest is maybe to move the third bird from the left just a little bit down to separate her from the dark line in the background. Thank you for introducing the Spherize filter - I found it in Affinity, too, and it will surely prove useful. Posted: 07/07/2025 19:04:09
Thanks, Kirsti!
Great suggestion; I didn't notice that. Thanks for pointing it out. Posted: 07/07/2025 22:33:46
Great suggestion; I didn't notice that. Thanks for pointing it out. Posted: 07/07/2025 22:33:46
Peggy, I thought "YES!" when I saw your image. Living in California I often admire the pelicans flying soaring in the evenings before sunset. Your handling of the motion is perfect. This feels like an iconic image, nicely done. Posted: 07/12/2025 21:00:55
Thanks, Brad! Posted: 07/24/2025 23:09:29
Hi Peggy,
I really like the way you brought everything together to create a sense of movement, the motion blur is just right. By removing the colour, you've further enhanced the feeling of the birds flying against the wind and over the rough seas.
As for suggestions for improvement, I agree with the previous comments: perhaps moving the upper bird slightly downward to avoid touching the dark line in the background. Also, there's a spot in the top right corner that could be easily removed, and I would suggest softening the texture lines in that corner as well.
Posted: 07/13/2025 18:47:21
I really like the way you brought everything together to create a sense of movement, the motion blur is just right. By removing the colour, you've further enhanced the feeling of the birds flying against the wind and over the rough seas.
As for suggestions for improvement, I agree with the previous comments: perhaps moving the upper bird slightly downward to avoid touching the dark line in the background. Also, there's a spot in the top right corner that could be easily removed, and I would suggest softening the texture lines in that corner as well.
Posted: 07/13/2025 18:47:21
Thanks, Maria!
I'm going to move the bird, and thanks so much for noticing the spot and the texture in the upper right corner. I didn't notice those, and they are so easy to fix. Thanks! Posted: 07/24/2025 23:11:29
I'm going to move the bird, and thanks so much for noticing the spot and the texture in the upper right corner. I didn't notice those, and they are so easy to fix. Thanks! Posted: 07/24/2025 23:11:29