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Bonaparte's Gull
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Bonaparte's Gull

by Jim DeWitt

Gallery: AvianPosted June 29, 2013112 views6 comments
Canon 1D-X, 300mm x 2.0TC, handheld
f9, 1/1600, iSO1600

The slight orange cast to the light is the product of numerous wildfires in Interior Alaska; three weeks of extremely hot weather and no rain have created dangerously dry conditions.

60% of full frame. Slight sharpening. The weathering of the black feathers makes him slightly easier to properly expose.

C & C, please. Thanks for looking.

Comments

6 comments
Comment posted by Claude Dagenais on June 29, 2013 at 6:46 AM
A nice capture of atypical pose for that bird Jim. Good comp exposure and detail. Hope these fires don't do too much damage. :toast:
Registered on April 10, 2013, 56 Posts, 571 Comments
Comment posted by Mia McPherson on June 29, 2013 at 9:11 AM
Jim,

I love how this image shows the Bonaparte's Gull perched in the tree, many people don't know that these gulls almost always nest in trees unlike all the other gulls in North America so while this might be an atypical pose of those of us in the lower 48 it is probably more typical for you in Alaska.

I see these gulls on their migration as they feed on the brine flies of the Great Salt Lake and think they are among our most beautiful gulls.

Great head turn, pose and setting.
Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on June 29, 2013 at 7:20 PM
Nice, Jim. Excellent job of hand holding.

:toast:
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on June 29, 2013 at 8:16 PM
Nice straightforward shot of the gull. I like the detail and the perch especially. The OOF BG behind the gull I'm not so crazy about.
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on June 30, 2013 at 10:45 PM
Real nice image of this gull. I would take a little off the top on this. Great perch and excellent exposure on blacks and whites. Sharon
Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments
Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on July 2, 2013 at 2:07 PM
Unusual pose and perch for sure, at least in my experience. Sweet light; I hope the fires do not do too much damage.
Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments