Bonaparte's Gull

Gallery: AvianPosted December 20, 201071 views6 comments

It has been and will continue to rain hard for a while here in Southern California. I took my Canon 7D to the Canon Service Center this morning because for the last three weeks my shots have been soft with all my lenses. So I went back to review my other shots on a day they seemed to be sharper. Around mid November the Bonaparte Gulls showed up and I found them to be not only beautiful little Gulls but also entertaining. The way they land is really funny. Everyone I captured resulted in a belly flop and a head dip. Wish I could see them in breeding season. This shot was taken after I had got use to their behavior and is the first hop in a couple just before the belly flop and head dip. I know it is a landing because I took a series. I croped this close to show the splash and the gull's concentration on a landing spot.

Comments are welcome as always.

Date 11/27/2010 4:05 p.m.
Camera 7D with 300mm f/2.8L
Mode Aperture priority
SS 1/4000
AV f/5.0
Metering Evaluative
ISO 400
Exposure Comp - 2/3
Crop 50% of full frame

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on December 21, 2010 at 12:11 AM

Nice capture. I can guaranty views of Bogies in breeding plumage the first half of any summer; just let me know when you are coming

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on December 21, 2010 at 8:46 AM

Harry,

I'd love to see Bonaparte's in breeding plumage too. I like the blues of the water and how well the gull stands out from it, I especially like the splashing water and how the one foot is just barely touching it. I think this is a neat landing pose. It does look like the focus was slightly off, the foot in the air seems sharper than the face, I'd suggest adding a bit more selective sharpening to the face. In the field I would have opted for a bit more dof since you had such a high shutterspeed. Nice work freezing the action.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 21, 2010 at 8:51 AM

Harry, I enjoyed reading your account of their landing behavior. I like the posture that illustrates what you described, the splash and the blues of the water. Interesting shot.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on December 21, 2010 at 9:46 AM

Here is a later shot in the series to demonstrate the face dip.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on December 21, 2010 at 10:40 AM

Love the action & waters color, it's well exposed Harry.
You might've brought down the s-speed slightly to + your DOF a bit more?
Well done & Merry Christmas

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on December 22, 2010 at 11:51 AM

Neat shot Harry. Great action and pose, and I like that he's sharp on both head and tail, with the motion blur in the wing to give a bit of a sense of the action of the moment.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments