Gannet in heaven

[nick clayton]

Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire, UK. 25/03/12

Canon 7D
Sigma 500mm f.4.5
1/320 @ f5.6
+2/3 EV
Aperture priority
ISO 400
Pattern

levels
curves
saturation
selective colour
Photoshop USM - subject only
Noise reduction
Cleaned bill with clone tool

Anyone who follows the Birds as Art blog may recognize this image, I was lucky enough to have this image shortlisted in the BAA 1^st International Bird Photography Competition in the tight category, Artie made one suggestion which was to place the subject further back in the frame which is what I have done here.

[stuart wanuck]

just lovely!

[Doug Brown]

Beautiful frame Nick! Those deep foreground and background colors help make the bird glow. Perfect head angle and excellent sharpness. Placement of the bird in the frame is perfect. I see what appears to be a halo in front of the bird's breast.

[Bill Dix]

I remember seeing it before, and it's even nicer the second time around. Just lovely. Congrats.

[nick clayton]

I see what appears to be a halo in front of the bird's breast.

Gannets always have halos in heaven Doug Seriously though I’m not sure what has caused the halo, the only explanation I can think of is the OOF grass in front of the Gannet has caused the effect. Thanks for the comments.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Nick,

I wouldn't consider printing many of my bird images, but if this were mine you better believe it would be on it's way to get printed (at least 16x20).

The simplicity and the colors just make it pop. I might crop just a bit from the bottom.

Miguel

[nick clayton]

Nick,

I wouldn't consider printing many of my bird images, but if this were mine you better believe it would be on it's way to get printed (at least 16x20).

Thank you all for your kind words. I never print my images Miguel but maybe I should make the effort sometime.

[Melissa Groo]

Congratulations, Nick. This is really a splendid and yes, unearthly image in its surreal beauty. I would print this out bigtime. Thanks for sharing.

[dankearl]

Beautiful shot, Nick.
The colors are outstanding.
I would maybe work a bit more on the tip of the bill, use a bit more contrast and darken it a bit.
Nice work.

[Marina Scarr]

This is one kick butt image, Nick. The colors are exquisite, the exp is spot on, love the comp and the ethereal feeling of this one. I would enter this one in contests.

[Grace Scalzo]

Very sweet image, Nick. I just love the saturated colors. Well seen.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Nick, well exposed, and well placed in the frame. I really like how the Gannet blends into the surrounding FG and BG. Yes, the colours pop nicely. A fine image.

[Craig Kerr]

A beautiful image Nick, lovely composition with fabulous foreground and background.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Wow Nick this is just beautiful. The subject is aglow within those awesome colours. I really like the feather detail on the back of the head.

[nick clayton]

Thanks for the comments. I must admit when I was photographing the Gannet in the shade of a cliff half obscured by a grass bank I wasn't sure how the photo was going to turn out.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Excellent colors, composition and mood, Nick. A very well executed image.

[Nelson Mena Alfaro]

beatifull

[nick clayton]

Thanks

[nick clayton]

I was thinking of entering this into Wildlife Photographer of the Year but I'm not sure which would be the most suited category for it. Would it be best to enter it into 'Animal portraits' or 'Creative Visions'? any feedback would be greatly appreciated.