Great Black-backed Gull Catching A Mackerel.

The beach we stayed at had thousands of live mackerels wash up on shore during our first evening there (perhaps the result of hurricane Arthur which passed through the previous day), and the gulls were having a feast, especially the ones still lurking in the water (the ones washed ashore were picked up by local fisherman to use as lobster bait, and a few hand-picked out of the water by me for BBQing - that was the easiest fishing EVER!). This one was too close so I clipped the wing (and cut more pleasingly in post) but I love the action and pose. Fun photography gulls are!

With no more canvas in front I am convincing myself that the small amount of space in front of the gull and fish adds to the tension of the action. What do you think?

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/2500s., f/5.6, ISO 800, natural light, handheld, about 70% FF, removed a reddish cast on the darker part of the wings.

You have also convinced me. Clipped wings is, of course, something one likes to avoid, but with this picture and the crop you chose it only enhances the action, even with comparatively little space to the right. Also the dark rolling wave, the upturned tail of the Mackerel and the droplets add to this. I like it a lot!
Peter

Hi Daniel. The low angle and shower of water droplets capture the drama nicely. Love the eye contact. You could experiment with a little canvas extension to the right. Regards, Ian.

Hi Dan, how many times do you curse yourself with 'too much glass' whilst shooting BIF. This works for me as it is in your face action, and love the flying water from the take off from the water. It looks overcast, so its helped with the whites, although you probably had them sorted anyway. :w3

Awesome image! I really like images like this that show gulls taking natural food, because maybe just a little, it could alter the disdain that many feel for gulls as being "garbage" birds for one reason or another....So for me, the image attains high marks just for that. The composition is well balanced, and "feels" right to my eye, so no worries about the wing clip in my opinion. One thing I do wonder from looking at the image is what you might have been able to achieve with fill flash and a better beamer with this type of scenario....I've never had mackerel, but now I want some :)

Impressive action shot, Daniel.