Gull

[Don Jacobs]

I had a chance yesterday to finally get out in some sunlight. So tired of the drab, grey skies. I wasn't able to find anything cooperative but lots of gulls. I decided to work on trying to shoot the "whites" without blowing them out. I apologize for the background, the birds insisted on perching on the pier:( Any C&C greatly appreciated.

http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/ww103/deerlvr_2009/IMG_30791.jpg

[P-A. Fortin]

Gulls are usually quite cooperative. I do enjoy them for training, especially for in-flight shooting.

Image looks well exposed to me. I like the head angle and overall pose. I might have moved the bird a tiny bit to the right. The background is indeed busy but I actually don't feel like it is too aggressive. I don't know how the background would have looked above the water, but maybe shooting from a lower angle could have helped?

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Don, the ring-billed gulls are very photogenic and love to pose for the camera. A great combination of traits in my book! You did a fine job of exposing for the whites (which is the secret to all photography...) and that means that everything else falls into place in this image. I think your exposure and techs are spot on. Oh yeah, what are the techs? Please post, at a minimum, your gear, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and shooting conditions. Thanks!

[Marina Scarr]

Your whites (exposure) looks quite good in this image. It looks as though you photographed from a nice low angle and you have a good angle on the gull as well.

[Faraaz Abdool]

Yeah you've nailed the exposure here, Don. Good pose for the bird too, and even though the background is a bit busy, it's uniform - and as such it doesn't really distract the eye.

[Don Jacobs]

Thanks for all the comments. I shot this pic with the 7D and 300@ 7.1 ISO 320 SS 1/640.