Ring-billed Gull After-bath Wing Flap.

Strong easterly winds in the late afternoon/early evening meant butt shots of flying and roosting birds...except for when working with silhouettes:c3:. When a few of the gulls started bathing I knew the opportunity for interesting backlit wing-flapping action would occur and I went straight into prime position. I was especially hoping for translucence on the feathers...they did not disappoint! There is one thing that bothers me a lot here...can you guess?

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/3200s., f/5.6, ISO 800, handheld, small crop to help the composition, warmed up the WB to taste and to what I remember seeing, deepened the darkest blacks.

Hi Daniel, I love the colors, the translucence, and the droplets of water behind that are looking like sparks coming off the bird ;)

If I were to guess what bothers you about the shot, it may be that one wing (the left one) looks edge-on or thin closer to the body.

I really love this style of silhouette, Daniel.

Ross

Nothing bothers me ! If I had to dig deep I would say that it would be nice if the bird's left foot was open too, but so miner. Love the concept and well executed.

You took advantage of the situation and the end result looks good, Daniel.

Hi Daniel, nice image... well executed silhouette. My guess would be that the bird's left leg is lost against the silhouetted body. Thank you for sharing.

My guess is the far wing bugs you!
Silhouette looks great and lovely color in the BG. The water drops are really nice with this back light.
Gail

Another top draw image Daniel ....and inspiring to see what you always manage to achieve with the light you have available ,a master wildlife photographer in my honest opinion

Lovely colours on this one. Nothing bothers me :S3: Is it the HA :w3 Great capture Dan.

Will

Great Colors Daniel. Well done with the translucency of the feathers. The water droplets also add. I am guessing you are not loving the head angel.

Hey guys, thanks for the comments and guesses! IMO the HA is just about perfect, and although the far wing could be better I do like it as it flows well with the bird's overall position. Grace has guessed it: I wish the other foot was also open or did not look like it was mangled...for some reason it bugs me as heck!:S3:

Congrats Grace! Thanks for the "What Bugs Daniel" game Daniel :)

I too get obsessed with certain things in some of my images that stand out as flaws. I wonder if the lesson here is to try and see the beauty instead of our perceived flaws. It's such a good image and we are probably the only ones who even think about some of this minutia.