Grey Headed Gull

Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tripod
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/3200
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 400
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF
AF area select mode AF Point expansion

It was a lovely and this guy decided to take a stroll along the beach.
The light was tricky so I made a few masks on the bird to help equilibrate the lighting on the highly lit areas vs the darker areas. I did some brushing on the background to reduce specular highlights. All C & C welcome.

Your editing work was very effective to take care of the difficult lighting, Jon. I like your composition - nicely balanced with the lone shell on the right.
Terry

Hi Jonathan, sure is a stately walking pose, and getting down to the gull's level works well. You have done well considering the light angle.

Hey Jonathan,
Nice to see you in here too! I think the light angle.....even though you did tame it pretty well.....is working against you. The pose and angle are great........just too much of an off angle for my tastes. You may considering trying for a rimlit angle if you are in a similar situation in the future. Just some food for thought.

Hi, Jonathon. I think you handled this scene well, though I'm partial to Roman's suggestion -- rather than working against what the situation gives you, sometimes it's fun to work with it and go for something different.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

I could tell from the thumbnail this was special. The upright strutting posture and low shooting angle is great. Is it just me or is there a lot of chroma noise in the grey on the right wing? There shouldn't be for a 7D at ISO 400 unless you had to pull this way up from deep shade - in which case it makes a great fill flash and ETTR lesson. With little visible grey feather detail I would be inclined to do some NR there.

Thanks very much for the comments everyone. Allan your comments regarding the chroma noise are extremely pertinent - I did apply a mask there along with the side of the head and I made a levels adjustment layer. I was unable to purchase a better beamer for my 550 EX gun prior to my trip, looks like I will have to get the 580 gun in the near future.