Artie explained how to get this shot; because the gull swallows the roe almost as soon as they surface timing is critical. Not sure how many shots I took trying to get the gulls with the roe in their beak, but only 3 images were close to what I was trying to capture.
Shot taken September 4th '08
Weather was mostly sunny
Canon 1D Mark III
Canon 500 f/4 IS with 1.4 extender
1/1250@ f/5.6
AV Mode
Evaluative metering
Exposure +1
ISO 400
WB auto
HI Monte - I like the head angle and the action you have captured. I think you were going to struggle with the harsh light on this one - no detail in the eye area at all. For my tastes - too much OOF foreground is included - would crop it differently to get rid of some of the dead OOF foreground space. Also seems to have a magenta colour cast (at least on the screen I am on)
For these type shots I set my nikon to CH - continous high has a faster framerate - not sure if your canon has that ability. Awesome action to witness.
I'm surprised Artie was no screaming light angle !!!! If you could have moved left some more the bird would have been evenly lit which helps with harsh light.
Agree on cropping the foreground to reduce negative space. I think the one thing that detracts the most in the image is the dark eye. For birds the eye is the most prominent feature (usually) and you want to show it well.
Like the captured behavior very much and great that you stuck with it. Good images take work and payed off in this case !!!
It was often difficult to get good positioning on the birds because the real focus was on the bears. It was my first experience on a trip of this of this type. Frequently I reacted like a kid in a candy store being overwhelmed, would react to an image opprotunity before thinking things through. Have a couple other I will post. Never sure about cropping, how do you know what is enough or too little. Like to see the environment as well as the subject.
agree that you want to see the environment monte, but it all looks the same here, so you can lose some of it with no problem!!
i did a crop for you to show you what i was thinking. i think al sometimes recommends having the eye somewhere close to an intersecting line in the rule of thirds. i also did a color balance for you. used the grey dropper for the first time in my life!!!! i think it worked out well.
Hi Monte,
I like what you were trying to accomplish...very good advise given by Mr. Peters and Mr. Forns...Doctor Davis' repost took it over the top...looking forward to your next capture....good show...:cool:
Immature gull eating salmon roe
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