Just another gull shot

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

I hope you are not tired of my gull shots. I love these 1st winter ring-billed gulls.

40D. 300 f/4 non-is at f/4.5. iso 320. 1/1000. exp. comp of +1 2/3. close to full-frame.

This was a difficult one to expose and process. Bird's head was lit( but not a strong light) and body in shade...BG lit by the setting sun. Strong natural color cast as well. I have tried to do my best but looking for more inputs. I should probably tone down some bright areas in the BG. The sunlit portion of the bird is a little pink....I have kept it that way to be to true to how I saw it.

All C&C welcome.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I quite like the mood of your image KD. Really nicely composed and the light on the head is beautiful. I agree with you about the strong light in the BG and would certainly do something about it. It seems to compete a little with that wonderful bird.
TFS :)

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the water colors and mood and agree that it would have been better if the body were sunlit, too.

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

a proud pose with beautiful colors and shooting angle!

[Arthur Morris]

I love the tones in the water. You might wish to clean up the bill a bit. And some fill flash, actually quite a bit, at -1 say, would have evened out the lighting on the bird. Love the COMP and the way that the bird is angled slightly towards you. I love gulls too.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Artie, thx for the fill flash suggestion. I should have used it. I had the flash but turned it off for this shot as the light fell on its face and was worried about blowing the whites. I have few other photos with fill flash when the bird went into shade. I also have others with the bird fully in light. But they dont have the combo of nice BG, water texture and head angle. As you always say, everything has to be right for a good bird photograph...not just 3-4 things.

I will process the other images over the weekend and will post something next week.

[Juan Aragonés]

I agree with the above comments and would add that, in my opinion, the gull is a bit tight in the frame. I am not getting tired of your gulls KD, keep them coming because I love those birds ;)