Sunset gull

[shane shacaluga]

We were waiting for raptors on a cliff edge facing Africa and whilst we waited I noticed the gulls were flying in and out of direct sunlight and the sea beneath was in shadow. Decided to try one of those dark BG shots i see here often but can never quite get right

After quite a few attempts with shadows on various parts of the bird i managed this one.

D800e
300f4 + 1.7x TC
f6.7
1/3200
ISO 640

reduced -0.10 EV during raw conversion to get the whites in the 240 range
Lightened some shadow on the top part of the head and selectively applied a bit more red under the beak to show of this feature of the yellow legged gull

NR and slightly darkened BG.

Was actually in two minds about the waves showing behind but i guess it puts this marine bird into context

Hope you like it

Comments and critiques as usual welcome

[William Dickson]

I like this Shane, Very cool. The bird looks great against the blue BG. Very natural looking image. Thanks for sharing

[Ivan Sjögren]

Great job to see this opportunity. I really like the contrast between the dark sea and the bright bird. Nice wing position and sharpness. Too me, the image looks slightly cold and blue, I think it would do better with a warmer feel. I also wonder if you could extract some more details from the whites on the birds belly.

[shane shacaluga]

HI William/Ivan

Thanks for your comments

I have tried a repost making it slightly warmer and also tried to get some more details in the belly.

Let me know your thoughts

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Shane, I really like your concept here - the bird looks fantastic against the blue sea and wonderfully lit.

I don't think you can reasonably expect to get much more texture out of the belly of the gull - the feathers there don't have much structure anyhow.

For me, the thing to change is to get rid of some or all of the white waves or birds in the background.

Thanks for sharing, Gerald

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks Gerald

Was contemplating removing those but then it would be clear its actually the rough sea in the BG

In two minds about that

[Shawn Zierman]

Beautiful image....I can feel the elevation and the atmosphere in this frame. I prefer the OP, thought the sharpness was fine, and think it is sharper than the repost...did you just try and reprocess the jpeg for the repost or did you start from the RAW? Love the background....artsy and open to interpretation with the lack of definition...

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks Shawn

I worked on the PSD which I normally save with all the layers in case i get suggestions on how to improve.

I pushed another layer to try and get some more detail in the whites but then wasnt sure how to sharpen the whole thing and not just the layer that I worked on last. I guess i have to sharpen each layer unless i flatten the image

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hey Shane,

Try Image>Duplicate and then you can flatten the duplicate image and do whatever you want to it - and if you do save it, make sure you save it under a different name. Retain your original worked file separately.

Regards,

Gerald