Ivory Gull, Pismo Beach, CA!

[Dan Brown]

This capture was made yesterday in the rain, bellied up in the wet sand! Preliminary reports are that this is the second record of the species in CA! A very cooperative bird that is thrilling many birders while it feeds on a seal carcass (not pictured here). I cropped about 20%,converted with NX2 and processed with CS3, sharpening and NR with Noiseware Pro plus a tiny bit more sharpening with usm. I also lightened the eye. C&C welcome.

Camera Model: NIKON D300, handheld, shoulderstock
Shutter speed: 1/350 sec
Aperture: 8
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 800
Lens: 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6
Focal length: 400mm
Focal length: 600mm (in 35mm film)
VR Image Stabilization: On
AF mode: AF-C

[Doug Brown]

Congrats on getting a nice frame of such a rare bird Dan! I'm glad you got low, even if you got a little dirty in the process. Good sharpness and eye contact. Like the open bill. Might tone down the whites on top of the head a little.

[Marina Scarr]

Great find and good for you for getting wet and sandy to get a nice POV. Agree with Doug on toning the top of the head. It was the first thing that popped out at me when I opened the picture. I would crop a tad off the left and give him a little more room on the right. This would keep him so close to the center, and I think give him more prominence in your capture.

[Sid Garige]

Awesome eye contact Dan. Great pose. Too bad light did not co-operate.

[Tony Whitehead]

Nice pose and I really like the colours on the bill. I agree on taking a little off the left to decanter the bird. Has short legs for a gull.

[Aidan Briggs]

Nice low angle, and exposure. I like the open bill. I just heard about this guy. Hopefully I will be able to try for it tomorrow!!

[Bill Dix]

Beautiful capture of this rare and elegant bird. Worth getting dirty for. Agree with Marina about the crop.

[denise ippolito]

Dan, Great find and a lovely image. Worth getting in the wet sand! I love the open bill.:)

[Stu Bowie]

Getting down and dirty has paid off here. Good head turn, sharp, and overall well exposed. I would maybe move to the left in the frame.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

White head aside, looks fabulous Dan. Love the open bill and POV. Great stuff mate.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Dan, loved the details and the low angle. nice pose too. The bill texture has come out very well here. This must have made you a superstar( if you weren't one already :-) in the local birding community.

[Dan Brown]

Dan, loved the details and the low angle. nice pose too. The bill texture has come out very well here. This must have made you a superstar( if you weren't one already :-) in the local birding community.

Thanks all for the fine comments! I have been out of internet range for a week chasing the rarities that have been showing up here in CA! First this Ivory gull (BTW Kaustubh, many birders/photogs were able to get good images as the bird was very tame as many Arctic stragglers are) then a Black-tailed Gull (only the third CA record!) showed up near Long Beach which I missed after spending much, much time on! While the BTGU was being uncooperative, a Tiaga Bean Goose popped up at the Salton Sea (SoCal) which I did see but was only able to get record shots. This one may be the first CA record but I'm not sure. I put about 2000 miles on my car in a week as I live in Northern CA:(! Thanks again to all!