Ring-billed Gull Portrait

[Raymond Lee]

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone had a great weekend! The following photo was captured in spring when the gulls arrived in our area. This gull was standing on a fountain and allowed me to get some closeups. I photograph this gull slightly underexposed to get more details in the whites.



William Hawrelak Park, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. April 6, 2011.
Canon EOS 7D | Sigma 150-500 OS | Av mode, Spot Metering, 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 100 @ 500mm

Thanks for all C&C.

Cheers,
Raymond

[arash_hazeghi]

I do like the preening pose, you nailed the exposure too. I wish for a slightly better HA with no shadow in the eye

[Melissa Groo]

I think this is a beautiful portrait. Great comp, sharpness, and EXP. I even like the lightness in part of the background, adds more interest.

[Randy Stout]

Ray:
Nice job on the exposure. I like the light angle giving a bit of form to him via the soft shadows. Appreciate Arash's point about the shadow on the eye, but it still works for me. I would try a version with that shadow lightened, and see what it does to the effect of the image.

For just personal taste, I might add the tiniest sliver to the top.

Cheers

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Ray, you absolutely nailed the exposure, and the yellow of the bill pops so well against the white plumage, not to mention the red eye ring. Not the best HA, but the pose saves it a bit, and I like Randy's idea of trying to lighten the shadow in the eye.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Great exposure, pose, details. Not as crazy abou the head and light angles...moving to your left a bit would have been great (especially if the BG was still good by doing that).

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful image. Great feather detail, exposed very well, and love the red ring around the yellow eye.
Well done.

[Raymond Lee]

Thanks for the comments! I think the framing is fine the way it is; no need to add/subtract canvas. I didn't notice the head angle until the comments above, even then I think I'm fine with it; the tucked head pose is good enough to compensate for that HA. I agree that if I take a small step toward the left, the head angle would have been a little better, but might not be the same pose though. I also agree with the eye shadow. I will definitely work on the above suggestion.

Many thanks,
Raymond

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Ray! I like the exposure, sharpness and pose.

[Gary Esman]

Gorgeous shot! Only wish the whole bill was in focus, otherwise superb.

Gary.

[Josh Clark]

Love the coy looking pose here. Great job exposing the details in the whites. Love the red mask around the eye. Great job Raymond.