Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow
I’ve tried long exposures to get blurred photographs of birds before. I love the technique if it works. Just look how epic this Arctic Tern photograph is, with perfectly sharp head and beak and beautifully blurred wings.
It’s one of my favourite shots.
Our group of six photographers at Lake Kerkini in Greece is trying the technique on the huge Pelicans on Lake Kerkini. Instead of exposing my sensor for 1/4000th of a second for a standard flight shot, I’m panning my camera as they fly and using only 1/15th of a second.
Personally I’d rather the eye was perfectly frozen and not motion-blurred, but I still love the effect. What do you think?
More from Lake Kerkini
Fish It's tricky when you get a fish stuck on your bill. Especially when you have no hands. This Dalmatian Pelican… read more
Getting your Pelicans in a row The Dalmatian Pelican's gular pouch changes colour to an intense red as the breeding season approaches. read more
Golden hour It's a gorgeous sunset. The sun is setting over Lake Kerkini and I have several thousand more images on my… read more
Evening light on the snowy mountains The Dalmatian Pelicans of Lake Kerkini are certainly photogenic. So is the Lake and the surrounding landscape. Perhaps the most… read more
Its beak can hold more than its belly can Pelicans love fish. They're very fish-motivated. They're also quite fish-competitive. These three Dalmatian Pelicans are in a fish-battle for fish-supremacy.… read more
A strange bird the Pelican… For my trip to Greece to photograph the Dalmatian Pelicans of Lake Kerkini I did what you should never do… read more
Dalmatian Pelicans on Lake Kerkini I've just spent a week in Greece and Bulgaria in a group of six people taking photographs of the wildlife… read more