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"Mine!"
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"Mine!"

by Dennis Plank

Gallery: AvianPosted June 19, 2016135 views7 comments
In honor of the predecessor of a recently released sequel.  I spent a few mornings at Big Beef Creek near Seabeck on the Hood Canal shooting Eagles and other birds that feast on the spawning Sculpins that get trapped in the oyster beds as the tide recedes.  While the Eagles and great Blue Herons tend to be the focus of most of the photography there, I find myself more and more drawn to the Gulls and Fish Crows which seem to be even more accomplished fishermen (and are even lower on the pecking order).

7DII, Sigma 150-600 C @ 500mm, hand held, f/7.1, 1/640, iso 1250, manual exposure.  Processed in LR5 & CS6.  Cropped to 9 MP before resizing.  I reduced the brightness of the bg a trifle to help make the gulls pop more.  Taken at 6:28 AM on June 14th.

Your comments and criticisms are always appreciated.

Thanks,

 

Comments

7 comments
Comment posted by Raoul Breaux Jr on June 19, 2016 at 6:09 PM
Very nice action and behavioral capture Dennis!  As always, nicely composed.  The behavior is so typical of Gulls.  If I had to offer a nit, and it's just that, my preference would be a tad more contrast to separate the gulls from the background even more.  As it is though, you have done a good job handling white-gray gulls against blue-gray water.
Registered on April 27, 2016, 20 Posts, 142 Comments
Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on June 19, 2016 at 8:41 PM
The wing positions, the splashing water, the fish in ones gull's mouth and the open mouth of the other gull all help to make this a great capture of th action, Dennis!  Excellent comp, too!
Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments
Comment posted by Ed Williams on June 19, 2016 at 11:58 PM
Great action here Dennis. Seems just a touch soft on the gulls and I would also like to see a bit more contrast to help define them a bit more.
Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments
Comment posted by Pramod.Shanbhag on June 20, 2016 at 3:47 AM
A nice pic Dennis.Gulls are synced.A great action
Registered on May 17, 2016, 29 Posts, 68 Comments
Comment posted by David Schoen on June 20, 2016 at 8:00 PM
Food fight!  Looks as if you had challenging light (cloudy) but you did get the action shot.  I like the comp.  As others have noted, there is a lack of detail but I find this common even in good conditions when shooting gulls.  When they are wet, the feathers seem to stay matted and that flattens the shadows.
Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments
Comment posted by Steve Thompson on June 20, 2016 at 8:22 PM
The action here is extreme Dennis. You could play with the contrast or boost the clarity just a touch if you wanted, but I like it as posted too. It's cool that both gulls are in the "wings up" position and the comp works well. Sweet catch!
Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments
Comment posted by S Govindarajan on June 21, 2016 at 12:45 AM
I like the action here, Dennis. The wing-positions are great and even the sculpin is sharp. I feel you can reduce the brightness in the image and boost the contrast to show the action better. I like your comp and am think a pano version would also work.
Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments