I posted before about my fascination with our Brown Pelicans and got so many great comments and questions, I thought I would share the story behind this image I call “The Dive.”

There are times when I have been out on the water surfing, swimming, shooting, or paddling when a bait ball passed through below. When this occurs, there always seems to be excitement from the air. Dropping of the sky are the pelicans. They come soaring down in a straight line, wings tucked, long beak like an arrow as the smack into the water with a loud splash. They resurface quickly enough and stretch their beaks skyward to help the little fish they caught slide down the gullet.

Sometimes the bait ball is large and sticks around for awhile. Then it is like being in a hail storm of birds. Along with the pelicans come the terns and cormorants, all diving for their meals. Circling in a noisy cacophony are the every present gulls chasing scraps. One might even spot a sea lion joining the fun from below. It’s one of those experiences that is truly unique.

I set out to see if I could capture the diving pelican a few months ago. I set up on the beach with a 500mm lens and my Canon 1dx set to high speed, 20 frames per second. Lighting for this type of shot is crucial. The sun needs to be behind or at least to the side of you to fully illuminate the pelican without shadows as it makes its dive. A clear sky is far superior that a cloudy one for a consistent and dark blue background.

Once I was set up, it was a waiting game. The first two days I tried this, I had no luck; lots of pelicans flying by, but no fishing. The third time, however, I got lucky. It was early morning, the sky was clear and the sun was off my left shoulder. I began tracking some of the higher flying pelicans as they would seem to pause in the flight and start to line up into a dive. Eventually, one followed through and then it was a matter of keeping my subject in the frame as it shot downward 20-30 feet into the water. This happens so fast and with the shutter clicking away, one can never be too sure whether they were successful.

Back home, I uploaded all the images and then began the process of stitching together multiple frames. I found that using every 2nd frame created a nice overall image, with just enough space between the tail and the beak of the previous images. The result is an image I call “The Dive.” I actually have this image available now for a short time in my Bathroom Art Sale [click here]. It’s a 7×11 image printed on fine art paper and framed in a sleek white frame. Hope you enjoy!!