It's been a while since I put up a shot of a seagull, so I thought I'd share this one. John and I spent about 15 minutes photographing them this afternoon and even though this is the best of the bunch I ended up having to clone out a concrete post from the bottom of the image. As usual, the rest of the shots were total rubbish; either badly focussed, badly composed, or just plain crap – seagulls, despite their propensity to glide quite slowly, are absolute buggers to photograph.
Anyway, more importantly, it's John's birthday today, so feel free to go and wish him a happy birthday. I think he's hoping for some new clothes ;-)
captured camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter cropped?
11.55am on 15/1/06
Canon 20D
EF 70-200 f/4L USM
70mm (112mm equiv.)
f/4.0
1/1250
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
no
RAW
C1 Pro
minor
comment byAndy at 08:12 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
Great shot Dave, love the colour.
comment by Iain at 08:14 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
Dead ace i say. The eye looks in focus and the lighting's dead good, especially the shadow under the wing, gives the head depth from the wings. Hahahahahaha im first to comment too :-)
comment by iain at 08:15 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
darn got beaten as i was writing :-(
comment byKevin at 08:24 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
Great Detail, and colors. Perfect exposure
comment byYETi at 08:55 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
It's nice to read that you are human and something I often forget, I just thought it was my in experience but to read you saying they are absolute buggers to capture made me smile.
Great capture and love the colour of the sky which I feel is one of your treade marks.
comment byChris at 08:56 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
Really nice color & sharpness. Great photo!
comment by John Washington at 09:13 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
Thanks for the link Dave.
Well, you managed to pull off a great shots here. It's instantly recognisable as chromasia which I think is a good thing.
The colour comes across great on my monitor as well.
Goes great with the white theme as well.
comment byVictor at 09:56 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
Great! Perfect, crisp and clear as always!
comment by Sharla at 10:08 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
Jonathan, long time, no see!
[ David, still in search of the ultimate seagull shot, I see. :-) A very fine effort. Excellent lighting and a lucky capture of the background. I don't think a concrete post could have added anything to the shot. ]
comment byGary at 10:24 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
Great capture!
comment byEOS Chaos at 10:28 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
A really beautiful shot, the colour is great, and you can look the bird right in the eye! - [Chuks]
comment byCaryn at 10:38 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
This is a fantastic shot and very well composed. There's obviously been an amount of post going on here though, which is cool, but I'd love to know what process you went through.
comment byRock Kauser at 11:29 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
With only minor cropping with a 70mm/112mm lens this gull must have been REALLY close to you. Could you feel the wind from his wings?
comment byLee at 11:57 PM (GMT) on 15 January, 2006
Wow! Beutiful shot. The lighting of this is absolutely amazing =)
comment byRobert at 12:17 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
I'm always amazed at how small your file sizes are. 800 x 534, only 57k, and almost no artifacts?!
This photo shows you're a brave man, risking your lens with the possibility that this seagull may express displeasure with you in the only way a seagull can.
comment byJide Alakija at 12:41 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
I'm not sure about this one Dave, somehow for your standards I can only give you credit for taking the shot but not the post processing. Seems like something could be done to improve it. OR could it be that the bird looks too flat in the direction of its flight...?
comment bynuno f at 01:10 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
Yesterday, I tried to photograph some seaguls too near the river Tejo (Tagus) in Lisbon, Portugal. It was the first time that I tried to shoot birds flying and I think that after I see this shot, I must try again because mine are too far away. The colors are fabulous in your photo.
comment byPooh at 01:12 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
Just lovely composition, focus, and colors. Fantastic lighting!
comment byprasoon at 02:15 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
wow..
lovely colrs here n a truly gr8 capture.
comment byPhil at 02:20 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
I dont really want to say 'beautiful' but whatever you did here is making me want to say it. Though, about a seagull? Well its certainly quite amazing put it like that!
This is an unbelievable shot. Almost doesn't seem like a live bird and instead, something you would find in the museum of natural history in NYC. Great shot, Dave!
On another subject, been trying to e-mail you from my gmail account, but your ISP apparently doesn't like that. =( I'll try from my work address tomorrow.
comment byrosa at 06:31 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
i love this picture.. such beautiful colors =)
comment by /\/\J at 06:42 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
my first reaction was "wow". i love the color contrast and wonderful capture. nicely done
comment by Ellie at 08:26 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
absolutely awesome compisition.
comment bySteveO at 10:01 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
Stunning shot, the colour is fantastic, you must have been really close.
comment byPlasticTV at 10:21 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
Are my eyes cheating me??? This is absolutely the best picture i've seen, at least for this year. :p Gorgeous!
comment byJD at 10:55 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
This is great, by now I can only echo the comments that you have already received!
Sorry for words which don't match your photography.
comment byNavin Harish at 10:59 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
Nice shot David. How close is this to the "Seagull shot to end all seagull shots"?
comment byPaul Woolrich at 11:57 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
Dave, This is a stunning shot! Believe me I know what a bugger seagulls can be to photograph as I have tried it myself many a time. The detail in this shot is excellant, it's super sharp and the colours look spot on! Well done..
comment bypierre at 12:04 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
What Jessyel said :)
comment byLee at 12:26 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
Really vivid, it looks like you used flash, kinda....but you havent. The eye is freaky!
comment byPierre Sauvignon at 12:27 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
comment bytwocker at 12:57 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
The important thing is Dave, are you any closer to your ULTIMATE seagull photo with this one ;->
comment bySimon C at 02:59 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
There's a great deal to like about this, but there's something about the lighting of the gull that doesn't seem quite right. Also, the right tail feathers...
Reminds me of some of the eagle shots here:
http://www.wildthingsphotography.com/
Some are great, some just don't look quite so.
Either way, it's a whole lot better than any seagull shot I've managed so far!
comment by Monika at 03:28 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
wow...it looks like the seagull isn't even real...and you've made it look majestic, with its wings spread like that. It must be the prettiest gull in the UK!
comment byDrew at 06:01 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
This is an incredible photo! Great Job and beautiful colors. I love how you managed to freeze this seagull in midair.
comment byGary at 06:13 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
lovely image
comment bydjn1 at 06:55 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
Thanks everyone. By way of follow up I've discussed this image in the comments for tomorrow's entry.
comment by Jennifer at 07:46 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
Amazing photo! I think I'd like it better if he were in the lower left - rather than the upper right, though...
comment by Jennifer at 07:47 PM (GMT) on 16 January, 2006
WHOOPS! Should have said... "I think I'd like it better if he were in the lower right - rather than the upper left, though..."
comment byMike Johnson at 04:11 AM (GMT) on 17 January, 2006
awesome photo. tempting me to take my 70-200mm F4L out to the beach and try and capture something as beautiful as this!
comment byLaura at 05:21 AM (GMT) on 17 January, 2006
This is really lovely. To get even the eye with such clarity!
Happy birthday John !
Excellent shot. With a beautiful blue blue sky and white seagull ! The movement is perfectly captured.
It looks like a dream picture in a movie... Well, that's my impression ! :)
comment byJR at 03:28 PM (GMT) on 18 January, 2006
Impressive shot colors and exposition are beautiful
comment byPramesh at 06:43 AM (GMT) on 19 January, 2006
i know what you mean... here's one i did last summer... http://www.down.ca/attwala/index.php?photo=51
comment byphutta at 04:25 PM (GMT) on 19 January, 2006
Beautiful seagull
comment byMackan at 08:43 PM (GMT) on 19 January, 2006
Extremely beautful shot!
comment bymyla at 07:44 AM (GMT) on 20 January, 2006
Bravo! You. got. it.! He looks like he's totally posing for you. ;)
comment byMatt Simpson at 12:48 AM (GMT) on 4 February, 2006
Good shot. Of how many is this one?
comment bysknop at 05:50 PM (GMT) on 19 February, 2006
A truly wonderful picture Dave, probably the best seagull shot I've ever seen. Makes me jealous... ;)
comment byClayton at 04:48 AM (GMT) on 23 February, 2006
This photo is awesome. I really enjoy your photoblog! Best wishes...
comment byPrometeo at 02:27 PM (GMT) on 7 April, 2006
Great shot!!! One in a thousand!
But how much photoshop have you used in it?
(it's just to solve a discusion)
Thanks and congratulations
comment byJustin Blanton at 05:14 PM (GMT) on 26 August, 2006
Unbelievable capture David. Indeed, it was the inspiration behind this shot of mine.
It's been a while since I put up a shot of a seagull, so I thought I'd share this one. John and I spent about 15 minutes photographing them this afternoon and even though this is the best of the bunch I ended up having to clone out a concrete post from the bottom of the image. As usual, the rest of the shots were total rubbish; either badly focussed, badly composed, or just plain crap – seagulls, despite their propensity to glide quite slowly, are absolute buggers to photograph.
Anyway, more importantly, it's John's birthday today, so feel free to go and wish him a happy birthday. I think he's hoping for some new clothes ;-)
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
Canon 20D
EF 70-200 f/4L USM
70mm (112mm equiv.)
f/4.0
1/1250
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
no
RAW
C1 Pro
minor
Great shot Dave, love the colour.
Dead ace i say. The eye looks in focus and the lighting's dead good, especially the shadow under the wing, gives the head depth from the wings. Hahahahahaha im first to comment too :-)
darn got beaten as i was writing :-(
Great Detail, and colors. Perfect exposure
It's nice to read that you are human and something I often forget, I just thought it was my in experience but to read you saying they are absolute buggers to capture made me smile.
Great capture and love the colour of the sky which I feel is one of your treade marks.
Really nice color & sharpness. Great photo!
Thanks for the link Dave.
Well, you managed to pull off a great shots here. It's instantly recognisable as chromasia which I think is a good thing.
The colour comes across great on my monitor as well.
Goes great with the white theme as well.
Great! Perfect, crisp and clear as always!
Jonathan, long time, no see!
[ David, still in search of the ultimate seagull shot, I see. :-) A very fine effort. Excellent lighting and a lucky capture of the background. I don't think a concrete post could have added anything to the shot. ]
Great capture!
A really beautiful shot, the colour is great, and you can look the bird right in the eye! - [Chuks]
Incredible shot! Looks surreal.
This is a fantastic shot and very well composed. There's obviously been an amount of post going on here though, which is cool, but I'd love to know what process you went through.
With only minor cropping with a 70mm/112mm lens this gull must have been REALLY close to you. Could you feel the wind from his wings?
Wow! Beutiful shot. The lighting of this is absolutely amazing =)
I'm always amazed at how small your file sizes are. 800 x 534, only 57k, and almost no artifacts?!
This photo shows you're a brave man, risking your lens with the possibility that this seagull may express displeasure with you in the only way a seagull can.
I'm not sure about this one Dave, somehow for your standards I can only give you credit for taking the shot but not the post processing. Seems like something could be done to improve it. OR could it be that the bird looks too flat in the direction of its flight...?
Yesterday, I tried to photograph some seaguls too near the river Tejo (Tagus) in Lisbon, Portugal. It was the first time that I tried to shoot birds flying and I think that after I see this shot, I must try again because mine are too far away. The colors are fabulous in your photo.
Just lovely composition, focus, and colors. Fantastic lighting!
wow..
lovely colrs here n a truly gr8 capture.
I dont really want to say 'beautiful' but whatever you did here is making me want to say it. Though, about a seagull? Well its certainly quite amazing put it like that!
This is an unbelievable shot. Almost doesn't seem like a live bird and instead, something you would find in the museum of natural history in NYC. Great shot, Dave!
On another subject, been trying to e-mail you from my gmail account, but your ISP apparently doesn't like that. =( I'll try from my work address tomorrow.
i love this picture.. such beautiful colors =)
my first reaction was "wow". i love the color contrast and wonderful capture. nicely done
absolutely awesome compisition.
Stunning shot, the colour is fantastic, you must have been really close.
Are my eyes cheating me??? This is absolutely the best picture i've seen, at least for this year. :p Gorgeous!
This is great, by now I can only echo the comments that you have already received!
Sorry for words which don't match your photography.
Nice shot David. How close is this to the "Seagull shot to end all seagull shots"?
Damn... I mean... damn. This is good.
Dave, This is a stunning shot! Believe me I know what a bugger seagulls can be to photograph as I have tried it myself many a time. The detail in this shot is excellant, it's super sharp and the colours look spot on! Well done..
What Jessyel said :)
Really vivid, it looks like you used flash, kinda....but you havent. The eye is freaky!
That's a nice shoot, one more... ;)
I shot a seagull, a couple of weeks ago in Tasmania, here is the result: http://pierre.sauvignon.free.fr/index.php?id=18
Cheers
Pierre
The important thing is Dave, are you any closer to your ULTIMATE seagull photo with this one ;->
There's a great deal to like about this, but there's something about the lighting of the gull that doesn't seem quite right. Also, the right tail feathers...
Reminds me of some of the eagle shots here:
http://www.wildthingsphotography.com/
Some are great, some just don't look quite so.
Either way, it's a whole lot better than any seagull shot I've managed so far!
wow...it looks like the seagull isn't even real...and you've made it look majestic, with its wings spread like that. It must be the prettiest gull in the UK!
This is an incredible photo! Great Job and beautiful colors. I love how you managed to freeze this seagull in midair.
lovely image
Thanks everyone. By way of follow up I've discussed this image in the comments for tomorrow's entry.
Amazing photo! I think I'd like it better if he were in the lower left - rather than the upper right, though...
WHOOPS! Should have said... "I think I'd like it better if he were in the lower right - rather than the upper left, though..."
awesome photo. tempting me to take my 70-200mm F4L out to the beach and try and capture something as beautiful as this!
This is really lovely. To get even the eye with such clarity!
Happy birthday John !
Excellent shot. With a beautiful blue blue sky and white seagull ! The movement is perfectly captured.
It looks like a dream picture in a movie... Well, that's my impression ! :)
Impressive shot colors and exposition are beautiful
i know what you mean... here's one i did last summer... http://www.down.ca/attwala/index.php?photo=51
Beautiful seagull
Extremely beautful shot!
Bravo! You. got. it.! He looks like he's totally posing for you. ;)
Good shot. Of how many is this one?
A truly wonderful picture Dave, probably the best seagull shot I've ever seen. Makes me jealous... ;)
This photo is awesome. I really enjoy your photoblog! Best wishes...
Great shot!!! One in a thousand!
But how much photoshop have you used in it?
(it's just to solve a discusion)
Thanks and congratulations
Unbelievable capture David. Indeed, it was the inspiration behind this shot of mine.