The X Factor

[Doug Brown]

This is a Glaucous-winged Gull from Alan Murphy's Alaska workshop. Manual exposure helped me with this white bird against a dark water BG.

Canon 1Dx, 300mm f/2.8, f/5.6, 1/3200, ISO 400, manual exposure, hand held

[Grace Scalzo]

Lovely and artistic. The top 1/2 sharp as a tack transitioning to waves below the splash captivated me for a long while. The light reflected on the upswept wings is lovely too.

[vishaljadhav]

X factor with a IDX , lovely one.
the superb splash and the small red on the beak makes it a impressive image ,
I am still on the image

[Jonathan Ashton]

That is one heck of a good image, really eye catching, this is one for the competitions if ever I saw one - and with that title! Excellent framing and the exposure is spot on - well done. I think the timing of this image is also very apt, a little later and the water would have been disturbed so the reflection causing the X would have been lost.

[Bill Holsten]

Great shot Doug. You handled the extreme contrast well. I like the square crop and the frozen (in time) splash also adds to the image.

[Lorant Voros]

Very well exposed with the whites popping nicely and getting a great IQ. Like the splashing water and the X symmetry.

[Karl Egressy]

Striking pose against dark background. Exposure is right on.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Doug, this is way too cool! X-cellent! X-citing image!!!

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Sweet image, Doug. Perfect timing and exposure. The crisp splash and the wavy reflection is so cool.

[Jeroen Stel]

Great (manual) control over darker and lighter tones and think it's got the X Factor indeed!

greetings,

Jeroen Stel

[PhilCook]

X indeed, nicely timed, nicely exposed and lovely wing form, nice clear splash as well.....is there any chance of a little more space on the bottom so the reflected wing tips are visible ?

[gail bisson]

I really like this Doug.
Great title and I like the play of darks and whites and the nice splash,
gail

[Hazel Grant]

Nothing I can add to the above. Excellent. And to catch it on manual is admirable.

[Randy Stout]

Doug:

A fine/creative image of a common bird. IQ is outstanding, techs great, comp works for this pose/reflection.

Very well done.

Cheers

Randy

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Super cool shot Doug. That reflection is awesome and the water movement intersecting the X as well as the side head angle really come together nicely

[Marina Scarr]

Very unique image, Doug. Love the symmetry of the wings, the green in the BG and the water splash. Exposure is spot on.

[arash_hazeghi]

it's tough to make an appealing photograph of seagull, but you have succeeded here to capture a dynamic pose plus the reflection which has made a great photo.

[David Salem]

Beautifully composed shot of a common subject. Exposure and details are perfect and the wing position and with the reflection is awesome. Nice work.

[Declan Troy]

Excellent. A small point; the dark eye and faint markings on the primaries would indicate a Glaucous-winged Gull rather than Glaucous Gull.

[Doug Brown]

Appreciate the feedback and the ID correction!

[Shawn Zierman]

Classy image, pro exposure work, and brilliantly processed.
A glaucous-winged gull would be a mega rarity where I live...anything but common.
No such thing as a "sea-gull". :)