This Ivory Gull was photographed in Svalbard a few years back - about 02:30 in the morning, from the side of a frozen lake. It was being harassed by an Arctic Tern and reacting to it. A few moments later, to the amusement of my fellow photographers, it flew over and landed right next to me - inspecting my camo outfit, looking for a meal in the debris, I guess!
The shot was slightly underexposed so the file has just been waiting on my disk for me to want to practice my PP skills - you could say it has been on ice until now, if you were desperate for a pun!
Canon EOS 1D MkIV; EF 500 F/4 L IS plus 2.0 Extender Mk III for 1000mm
1/1250 sec @ f/8; ISO 800
PP was complicated trying to bring out details in the whites of the bird and minimise noise. Started with DPP 4 and went to Photoshop 5 working with Levels and Curves with luminosity masks, Dfine for NR.
The 1000mm choice was not a particularly good one - so this shot will probably not join Arash's collection of favourite sharp images - but it is my best Ivory Gull shot, for now!
I like the story too, and I'm always up for a pun! I like the defensive pose, and you brought up the exposure nicely in post. I do feel that it is a touch too soft though IMO, but the memories you have behind the opportunity makes it a worthwhile one to keep for sure.
Theme: Ivory on ice
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