Pelican Surfs Santa Ana Wave, a photo from California, West

Photographer's Note

Here in San Diego, you tell that a Santta Ana wind is blowing wehr the wind blowing from the hot desert smooths the waves to glass and the the spray blows over the top of the wave.
This was taken in January and the temperature was probably about 76 F (24 C). There's one blowing now (it's 100 F / 38 C here inland. Yesterday I was watching pelicans play on the wind as it came over Point Conception. As I watched them swoop and dive, I was reminded of of Charlie 'Bird' Parker's swooping saxaphone solos.

ALIRIZA, jlbrthnn, feather, pablominto, mark_mk, xuaxo, stelli, azaf1, gunbud, fulvio52, danos, emjleclercq, JCG, edge, josepmarin has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

totoamoto (2519) 2008-11-13 14:17

Salut PAt
Bien vu.. Déjà vu des surfeurs.. des dauphins dans les vagues.. mais là.. bravo
Cyril

gneufeld (15870) 2008-11-13 18:24

Hi Pat,
A refreshing change here to see an ocean view like this one. And you caught a special moment in the life of the pelican. Well done and TFS. GErald

ribeiroantonio (22618) 2008-11-13 19:27

It is really a great shot. It looks like the pelican is just coming out of the tunnel. The sharpness is excellent and the emerald colour is beautiful. Well done.
Antonio

ALIRIZA (16419) 2008-11-13 22:07

Hi Pat,
Good timing, great action shot with wave, pelican. I like the green and blue tones a lot. Well done my dear friend...
Best wishes...
Ali Rıza

MarianneS (15338) 2008-11-13 23:47

Hi Pat,
You captured a great scene, with the bird flying just along the wave.
I like the way you composed with part of the waves"up" and nother part splashing (I am sorry, I don't know how to express this). It is an amazing sight!
Best wishes,
Marianne

John_F_Kennedy (41368) 2008-11-14 2:08

Idyllic tropical beach. Very beautiful wave and good perspective! Well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

jlbrthnn (79787) 2008-11-14 2:52

Hello Pat,
Superb, this pelican imitates the surfers while remaining in the tube. The colors are splendid. A very beautiful image, catch at the good moment. Congratulations.
Have a nice dy and weekend
Cordially
Joël

feather (51128) 2008-11-14 3:15

I'm so envious of your lifestyle. Now you can spend the winter in warmer climes and still be at home.
Excellent timing to catch the pelican in the perfect position. Also the fast shutter freezes the spray on the waves. Creative title too as the pelican is right in a surfer's position as he catches the wave.
Kath

Gerrit (43745) 2008-11-14 15:22

Hi Pat,
great capture at the right place in that breaking wave,
Great timing and composing.
Regards, Gerrit

pablominto (53744) 2008-11-15 1:32

Hello Pat,

The large bird is well captured and the breaking wave adds to the action!
And we all remember The Bird... well, maybe not -
Appealing simplicity in composition, the mood is well recorded!

Greetings,
Pablo -

mark_mk (266) 2008-11-15 3:18

Hi Patj,
your timing here is outstanding, you captured the perfect moment, so that it looks like the pelican is really surfing the wave! A well done shot, your timing was absoltuely perfect. Also a humorous touch, I really like this one!

Take care
Mark

xuaxo (6830) 2008-11-15 7:09

Olá Pat
I agree that the timing is quite good.
A great photo of a nature theme.
Um abraço.
..-. .-. .- -. -.-. .. ... -.-. ---

stelli (2991) 2008-11-15 8:29

Beautiful levels of water and the blue color and an amazing moment with the "seagull surfer"! Thank you for sharing! Regards Stella

azaf1 (15929) 2008-11-16 1:24

Hi Pat
Indeed at the spur of the moment, not even if you had it planned! Amazing composition with the pelican following the breaking of the wave. I like the well divided frame in parallels and the natural colors
TFS
Argiris

gunbud (34052) 2008-11-16 8:08

Hi Pat,
Love the varying shades of green and blue to the sea.
The wave action is seen in remarkable sharp detail and the pelican in clear focus.
Global warming is not so subtle these days.
Regards, Tom

fulvio52 (8314) 2008-11-16 11:17

Hi, Pat.
Splendid straightforward compo, simple and extremely effective. Perfect timing in catching that pelican in full flight right in front of the crashing waves and great natural colors, TFS!
Have a nice sunday, I'll be seeing you.
Fulvio.

danos (74518) 2008-11-16 12:45

Hello Pat,
nice the snapshot of the playing pelican with the blowing of the air and the wave that come over him.I like the different colors of the sea as the contrast with the sky.Well done.

Regards,Danos

emjleclercq (15778) 2008-11-17 14:05

Excellent catch of the pelican in low flight over the waves. The sea is rather green here, probably because of the winter season, but the sea has so many diffrent colors that it makes just one of them...

All the best,

Emmanuel

JCG (35129) 2008-11-18 7:05

Hi Pat,

I have the impression that this pelican plays with the wave !!! A beautiful photograph with a good timing what gives much charm to the image. The natural colors are very pleasant. A beautiful composition, cheer Pat.

With all my friendships and with soon,

Jean-Charles

Angshu (51432) 2008-11-19 0:35

Hello Pat
You captured the pelican quite brilliantly in flight. Timing is the key here as you caught the bird just before the area where the surf breaks. It would have been somewhat lost (white against white)..and it does look like surfing the wave. Excellent!
Best Regards
Angshu

edge (6068) 2008-11-27 20:43

Hi Pat, I looked at this shot and almost could feel the spray from the sea. Love this area. You have done well capturing the ocean with the bird flying above the waves. Very well done. Cheers. Roger

josepmarin (55209) 2008-11-28 8:55

Hi Pat,
A great capture in which you have hunted the flight of this pelican, who seems to be surfing on this fantastic wave.
It is not easy, but you have done a good photographic work, simple and attractive.
HLJ
Josep