Ring-billed gull portrait

[Bryan Hix]

Although these birds are very common and to some, a nuisance, I thought they would be a great subject to practice with proper exposure of whites which I had been having some issues with. There are probably some parts on this one that are a little hot, but overall I was pretty happy with the exposure and the sharpness. I also liked the dark blue BG against the white. I was being conscious to have the sun directly behind me and the HA toward me as well. Not sure if I am sold on the square crop, so looking for some feedback on that and anything else that can be improved. Thanks!

Canon 1D MkIII
Canon 500mm f/4 w/ 1.4x TC
ISO 250, f/5.6, 1/3200
Manual exp, eval. -2/3
PSE7, crop, sharpen, cloned out stray feather

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Excellent exposure and eye contact Bryan with lovely detail and very sharp. Many thanks for sharing this beautiful portrait.

[Danny J Brown]

Hey Bryan - Great portrait with beautiful bokeh. I love it when I can see the blood vessels in the eyes and the bill is perfect. I would expect nothing less with that fantastic rig you are using (smile).

[kenn threed]

A very lovely portrait Bryan,

Really shows off the image quality of that 1D. I believe you got the exposure pretty much right on, but some detail might not be showing in the whitest parts because the sun angle was so directly behind you. Love that deep blue bg too.

I think crops will always be a matter of taste, but when you're shooting this up close and personal the square frame works for me.

excellent shot,

Kenn

[Harshad Barve]

Excellent image , lovely control on whites and killer BG
TFS

[Stu Bowie]

Great detail captured, and well done with the exposure too.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Beautiful BG and loved the tightness. Awesome job with the whites. Was the bill this pale? A more yellow bill would have made this even better. But I am not suggesting you alter the reality. The gulls' colors vary with season and age...so am not sure how this one was exactly.

[Bryan Hix]

Beautiful BG and loved the tightness. Awesome job with the whites. Was the bill this pale? A more yellow bill would have made this even better. But I am not suggesting you alter the reality. The gulls' colors vary with season and age...so am not sure how this one was exactly.

Yes, that is the color of the bill. This is a younger bird as you can see from the spotting on the head, so it probably plays into the dull bill color. Thanks for the comment. :)