You're right. Getting that left wingtip in would have been better. I would fire up my Photoshop here and clone out the orange kayak and a couple white and dark blotches above the bird to the right of the photo. I'm sort of a Mr. Monk when it comes to my photos. Finally, I would try cloning out the yellow kayak just to see how the photo looks with just the bird, sand and water. If it doesn't do anything for you, leave the yellow kayak. I like behavioral shots like this. I often take photos of gulls dropping clams to crack them open out in front of my house. They may not be the best technical shots, but they show me typical gull behavior.
This image have several distractions. The Kayaks in the BG take a huge amount of distraction to your main subject, especially with the bright colors. The wings are cut which are not ideal for this composition.
David..... did you say Mr. Monk !!!!!!! Would love to see him doing PS on one image By the time he figures what to do the next version of PS would be out !!!
Would have been nice having the wing intact Agree on dry docking the orange kayak Would also try a different vantage point to move the water Also clone out dark/white spots !!!
Sean
It's always good to get a nice behavior image and that you have. The crab does add interest. As mentioned, the colorful kayaks are a distraction and the wingtip is clipped. As Alfred has suggested...trying a different vantage point would be helpful. It sounds like you'll have plenty of opportunities once we get past winter.
I really like the way you've captured the gull holding the crab. The position of the birds head and the clear look at the crab make it interesting. Unfortunately, I think this is overpowered by the distracting bg/fg elements and missing wing tips. The good thing about gulls is that they are fairly easy to find and they frequently eat crabs and other creatures, so you should get some more opportunities.
Yes, after seeing this photo, Monk would be returning to that beach and would be filling vacuum bags cleaning up all that awful sand!
Thanks everyone, for the great advice. Kind of a lighthearted photo I guess.
I hear y'all on the kayaks being a distraction. I could go either way, but I actually also wish the two boats were a little more "opposite corner symetrical" if there's any such thing, but one protrudes out a little more. And yeah that wing tip... if only. Next time.
I'm starting to processs my raw photo's but haven't invested in a photoshop type sw with a cloning-out type of tool. Soon! I want the L lens first!