Neat Background?

[Arthur Morris]

This immature Glaucous-winged Gull was photographed from a boat in the Shelikof Strait, Katmai National Park. We attracted a variety of birds by chumming with halibut guts and scraps.

Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens (handheld) with the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops off the white sky set manually: 1/1000 sec. at f/4.

All comments welcome; don't be shy.

[Fabs Forns]

Mountain looks great as BG and so does the fully open wing pose. splash a bonus :)

Diagonal makes for a strong compo.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Agree with Fbs, the BG does look good as it doesn't distract at all but at the same time says something about the enviroment, pose is great as it is exposure, the water drops as Fabs also said, are a nice plus! Congratulations Arthur!

[Sudhir Shivaram]

The mountain does make a nice background here. The other thing I have noticed in images having mountain as bg is that I see a blue cast in the bg. Is it because of the atmospher ?

The flight of the Gull with an angle is nice and also the wind blowing the feathers on its right wing makes it interesting.

Rgds,
Sudhir

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Agree with Fab;s comments and I also like the addition of the droplets of water. I am always partial to the diagonal composition too. Beautiful capture Artie.

[bill kominsky]

I have to agree with the others Artie, but would like to see the head position a little different, but bird and wilflife photography can't always be perfect, stunning capture no matter what we say and wish it were mine.

Bill

[david cramer]

I like mountain BGs, including this one. I would prefer a slightly larger crop, so more of the mountain is evident.

[Bill Jobes]

The background color might not work as well with a bird of a different color, but it's stunning with this one.
I find the combination of colors very engaging.
The background color is somewhat out of the ordinary, Artie, and that adds extra appeal to me.

[Mark Schmitt]

There is much to recomend on the image, these are my takes: 1) There is a sensce dynamic air flow over the wing, as evidenced by the leading edge of the right wing: the feathers lifted as a result of broken air flow suggensting the force of lift. 2) the mottled appearance of the BG breaks what would be a monotone of hues lending to a feeling of environment not just a "back drop" 3) the eye is lead out of frame as a result of the cropingn in the long horizontal axis. 4) it appears that the sky was overcast as the lighting is even and diffuse and there is a lack of contrashading. All nice elements for a good image. Good.;):)

[James Salywoda]

I love the angle of capture and the water drops falling off the bird . Sweet Shot!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like this kind of BG a lot. Exposure and details are great, too.

[allanrube]

I agree on pose, water drops and dual-colored abstract BG. I do think, however, there is too much white to the left of the bird.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all for your comments. I do like the image and the BKGR

[WIlliam Maroldo]

I was thinking that the diagonal orientation of the bird might be more appropriate in a square format. I would't crop or expand the top or bottom, just crop the sides until the bird was centered and the crop square. Why? A diagonal composition can be very powerful, and unless the framing, or crop, accentuates it, it is less effective.The resulting tighter crop would also emphasize the detail of the bird, (the dynamic airflow as Mark founted out, water droplets, etc.) which seems to get somewhat lost in the comparitively large background The background is also simple (not that that is a bad thing, actually the opposite) and it doesn't need take up as much space to get across its basic idea. I think if it was more of an environmental shot, and the background element needed to be more fully visuallized, I could see more of its inclusion. Just something to consider. regards~Bill

[Arthur Morris]

The mountain does make a nice background here. The other thing I have noticed in images having mountain as bg is that I see a blue cast in the bg. Is it because of the atmosphere ?
Sudhir

Thanks to all for their comments and suggestions. Sudhir, I think that I color corrected this but not positive. The blue in the greens may be due to the overcast weather (which often yields a blue cast) or to the types of trees on the mountains.