Franklin's gull

Gallery: AvianPosted July 20, 20161,198 views8 comments

We have a few of these gulls nesting in N Utah near the Great Salt Lake. They feed on insects which they catch on the wing and their flight patterns are more like the swallows' than larger gulls'. I tried to get some handheld flight shots, with (very) limited success. This was one of the sharper images, which I was happy with. I went back a few days later with better gear, but did not see even one of them. Oh, well.

600mm, 1/3200s@F7.1, ISO640, +2/3Ev, handheld.

Cropped from horizontal to vertical. I thought of cloning the reeds in the bottom, but my photoshop skills are not that good. So I left them in there.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on July 20, 2016 at 9:05 PM

Really love the backside view and the wingspread is perfect Govind. This ia really nice and I don't want to sound nit picky, but I do feel like It's a touch tight on bottom. I don't know if this is FF or a crop, but if you have more room on bottom, I might add back a sliver (just a tiny amount to balance it out a little more). Either way, it still works.
devil

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 20, 2016 at 11:52 PM

Great angle and lovely detail in the plumage, Govind. If I were to clone anything on this it would probably just be the partial grass head on the left. I like the effect of the rest.

devil

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on July 21, 2016 at 12:30 PM

Really cool! Definitely suits the vertical crop. Good shot! devil

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on July 21, 2016 at 1:35 PM

I like this view of the Franklin's gull. It has a very distinctive appearance and I'd like the pose in which you caught it. I've never seen one of these although I have many gulls around my area. You are able to bring out the detail quite well. I agree with Kurt about adding some area.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 21, 2016 at 6:15 PM

Lovely top side view here Govind, maybe a touch more room at the bottom if it's not too distracting there. devil

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on July 21, 2016 at 6:35 PM

Thanks for all your feedback. I see the lack of room at the bottom, but I don't think I have more pixels to include there (dob't have access to the original image currently). I will try adding some canvas later today.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on July 22, 2016 at 8:03 PM

Pretty good catch. I agree on the need for room at the bottom.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on July 22, 2016 at 9:58 PM

Beautiful shot of this gull, Govind. Really nice lighting and the blue background really compliments the grays in the gull.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments