Juvenile Yellow Legged Gull

[shane shacaluga]

Was out looking for some raptors today but towards midday it got quite overcast and there was no raptors to be seen

I was on a cliff so decided to take some shots of the yellow legged gulls in first year plumage. Not sure if this counts as a shore bird?

This one I particularly like because of the wing position and nice light

D800e
Nikkor 200-500mm at 500mm
f5,6
1/2500
ISO 1250

Manual mode adjusting exposure by checking for blinkies

Cropped for composition and usual levels and slight brightening of face and slight shadow on chin and breast
Separated subject and slightly darkened BG to show of some of the sea and ripples under the grey sky
USM on subject

Thanks for viewing and comments most welcome

[Marina Scarr]

I like your composition here, and the white birds pops well against the darker sky.

[Lorant Voros]

Unusual angle makes this image interesting for me. Nice and sharp and well exposed. TFS.

[Richard Flack]

Hi Shane, good wing position and nice to have a darker sky as a background. Might be my set up but I could go a bit brighter on the image overall (or perhaps just the bird). TFS. Rich

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks for your comments guys

Richard the worry was that the whites are borderline on 240's and didnt want to expose any brighter and lose details. I brought it down by 0.25EV in ACR.

I actually liked the mood due to the overcast day but will try a brighter version

Background is the sea from above and not the sky

Appreciate the input

[David Cowling]

The full wing stretch looks good and makes for an unusual composition which I like. The whites look to be well handled and the eye is sharp. The darker background doesn't bother me. Well captured.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Shane, excellent wing position, and I like the eye contact. The eye looks great against the white plumage, and yes, the Gull pops nicely against the water BG.