Seagull in Flight C&C appreciated

[Brownbear]

A photo from my BIF practice, this morning which was cut short because of the rain. I like the mood of the photo, and I think the gull is sharp enough but I'm not sure if the blurred (in camera, this is not one of my funny learning to edit shots) background works....



All comments helping me to improve are always appreciated. Thank you.

[Digital]

Christina, your photo of your subject is excellent IMHO. The only drawback I see is your to busy background. Since I am not a bird photographer do not take my criticism very seriously.

Bruce

[Bobobird]

It is good to practice on easier more plentiful birds such as gulls for a couple of reasons - they are light coloured meaning the shots can easily blow. They are not that slow, meaning you need higher shutter speed to freeze. They can be pretty erratic at times, meaning you need to up your tracking/panning skills.

As for this one - the important thing is he is not blown and is sharp. Could only be achieved with lots of patience. Well done there. As for backgrounds don't worry about it. There will come a time soon when those too will fall into place.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Christina,

You haven't supplied the shooting data and EXIF data is stripped, so I cannot comment on that side of things beyond the thoughts Bobo gave.

Not bad at all - I actually think the background adds context and is fairly uniform in colour and shape, plus sufficiently blurred, as to be not too distracting in this instance.

That said, if mine - I'd clone out the brown/red thing below the left wing tip and spot heal some of the largest, brightest rain drops.

I have been practising recently too (but BoW and BoT in my case) - that's why I've not been here much this last week or so; 'watch this space', as they say.

Keep at it - I found an intensive 3 days shooting last weekend really helped me learn the 'touch only' ways to set the camera up for the next shot.

Cheers,

[Brownbear]

Thank you Bruce, Bobo and Dave...

Thanks, Bobo! I aim to conquer backgrounds in the near future! With this one I was just wondering if it worked because it was different... I also have some nice pigeon shots, with cluttered but colourful and blurred backgrounds... however in the case of birds better to have a clear background.

Dave, Thank you for your suggestions. I don't know why my exif data doesn't show... It shows here on my end..

Manual SS 1250 A 5.3 (Tamron 200-400 mm lens the widest I can shoot) iso 800 Auto WB, Matrix metering Focal length 600 mm... Exposure bias +.67

Dave... Just a reminder that I'm still waiting to see your swans...

[FootLoose]

Actually, Christina, I like this shot because of the different background. I think it gives the bird a background story.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Greg... thank you for sharing your thoughts... nice to know.

Actually, Christina, I like this shot because of the different background. I think it gives the bird a background story.

[nimitzbenedicto]

Hi Christina,

Terrific shot! Crisp and clear handheld shot.

background: nice diagonal lines. Though I'd clone/darken the chair (?) on the right side,
and that podium(?) above the gull.

Thanks for exif.

Victor

[Cantab]

Very impressive! The background is sufficiently blurred that it's not obvious what it is. My guess is a dock, in which case the photo shows the gull in a typical environment.

P.S. I haven't forgotten the slug.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Victor and Bruce.

Victor I will keep this photo and save it future when I'm more skilled at cloning. I can't tell what those things are either.

Bruce, Yes, it is a dock and I'm very much looking forward to see your slug!