Stunning! Love it. Wonderfull moment, great exposure, comp, BG, detail and colors, I qouls only suggest to reduce the size of the signature :) Co0ngratulations!
Agree with David and Ramon re: technicals. Very nice composition. It is the texture of the starfish, vs. the smoothness of the bird that makes it so striking for me. Very lovely.
Excellent image. Colors, textures, and detail all come together on this one. The starfish couldn't have been in a better position/angle to match the bird (probably little consolation for him!)
Thanks to everyone for your kind words. This was an instance of being in the right place at the right time with luck on my side. I had gone to Barnegat to photograph the harlequins on Saturday. I got there on Friday, and was walking around, getting a feel for the place. All of a sudden, there was a great ruckus and this gull landed carrying the starfish. Of course, all the other gulls wanted a piece of the starfish, so he turned and started walking right toward me. I got off exactly one shot of this before he took off. This is nearly full frame, and all I did as far as touch up was to remove a slight shine from the beak and clone in one of those little spots on the star that had gotten knocked off in the catch, a slight levels adjustment, and sharpening. The light fizzeled the next day for the harlequins, but I came home happy, none-the-less.
Grace...you rock, and you know it! this proves it. What's not to like here? I've never seen something like this before. Perfect exposure, great eye contact, and a star fish for goodness sakes. Lord have mercy.
Lovely DOF on this to renfer the BG a pleasing blur. Great moment captured and im sure this Gull enjoy what looks like a "chocolate starfish". Well done!