Juvenile Black-headed Gull.

[Levina de Ruijter]

Hello everyone!
I took this a few days ago and I like it a lot.

Taken mid morning, with the Canon 40D and the 300mm f/4. The sun was hiding and light was rather flat.
ISO 200
f4
1/800
HH
Manual
Spotmetering

It's full frame (just a sliver to get the eye on the lower left point of ROT. There was a slight blue colour cast that I removed. Other than that I added a bit of contrast using curves, then resized and applied some sharpening on the bird. And I removed a bit of poo from the bridge railing.

I would love some input/opinions etc. Thank you in advance!

[Randy Stout]

Levina:

Normally I wouldn't be thrilled about having a railing in the photo, but the shallow DOF and low point of view converts it into an interesting compositional element.

Nice exposure, sharpness, framing on the right. I might consider a bit off the left side, but presents well as is, and it might reduce the impact of the diagonal line created by the tail and birds back.

I like it a lot too!

Cheers

Randy

[Allen Hirsch]

Interesting composition.

I like the way the rail matches the tone of the BG and disappears at the bird. Leg sharpness is outstanding; exposure looks great. Only thing I'd like is a bit more of the eye/better HA, but you take what you can get.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hello Levina, lovely behavior shot! Interesting composition and I love the angle formed by the primaries and tail. According to my monitor you did and excellent job with the color balance. Nice control of the whites also, that flat light helped. Well done!

[Steven Kersting]

Due to the leading lines and strong diagonal (railing/wings) I don't think the eye needs to be at the lower left ROT intersection. I'd actually place the intersection of the lines (left edge of rail and wing) at the left ROT line. Probably convert to 4 : 5 aspect to prevent it from getting too tight.

I also think I would prefer if there were "something" the bird was picking at...

But mostly, I am quite impressed at how good this picture actually is... a seagull on a railing has so much potential to be "bad". You've done a great job with this overall.

[Levina de Ruijter]

Thanks everyone for commenting. Much appreciated. As usual I had problems with placing the bird in the frame. I will try your suggestion, Steven. Oh, and there is something that the bird is picking at! It's a small bit of white, a breadcrumb maybe, but it's definitely there...

[Steven Kersting]

Thanks everyone for commenting. Much appreciated. As usual I had problems with placing the bird in the frame. I will try your suggestion, Steven. Oh, and there is something that the bird is picking at! It's a small bit of white, a breadcrumb maybe, but it's definitely there...

I saw that...Maybe I should have said "something definitive"

[Ian Cassell]

Hi Levina. I also like this one a great deal. I actually like the position of the eye in the frame as it stands (and I think there is enough eye with catchlight to be effective here). I think the pale green color of the rail actually helps the image, bringing some color, along with the legs and bill, into a relatively monotone scene. The exposure looks right-on.

[Levina de Ruijter]

Thanks Ian. The pastel tint of the railing is one of the reasons I like the image as much as I do.