Flaps Down Gannet

[Dick Glover]

Bonaventure Island, 6-22-2010, Canon 7D, ISO 400, 28-300mm @270, f/7.1, 1/1000. Added some motion blur to emphasize fast approach.

[Randy Stout]

Dick:

A striking image, excellent landing pose, love the splayed feet and tail, look of concentration and framing.
Sharp and well exposed.

I am not quite sure if the background treatment belongs on Avian, vs. OOTB. Very effective in conveying the story however.

Randy

[Robert O'Toole]

Dick,

Like the cool blue tones and colors in the image. Nice pose.

Focus looks a little back from the head, the details in the head are not as sharp as details in the feet and tail.

Agree with Randy, it looks interesting and it works but it does look unreal. I think a lot of people will notice the effect with knowing about it beforehand, I know I did.

[John Chardine]

Dick- I agree with Robert. This is a lovely image but is a bit soft where it counts- that is the head and eye. It could be made to pop with some extra, selective sharpening. I also think some judicious lightening around the face and eye would be beneficial. Here's what I've done along these lines:

[Robert Amoruso]

Intereting positioning on the landing and cool use of the blur affect but I agree, lack of sharpness on the head and eyes is a bummer.

[Dick Glover]

Thank you John, for the very nice improvement. I was concerned about the sharpness, and should have followed my instincts, but I did not realize the potential in lightening the head as you so clearly demonstreated. Thank you for taking the time to show what these changes could do.
Dick

[Deborah Hanson]

Composition is very nice. Especially love the leg/feet position - this, I think, makes it a unique image.
Do like repost.
Great catch.