Thye crop is excellent. The background isn't a distraction and complements the gull. The gull is white so the the overexposed areas on the tail, head and wing feathers is hard to avoid. I would try to burn in some detail there if at all possible. I like the detail in the wings. The eye and beak are very sharp. That it has something in the beak is special here. Overall the image is ellegant.   Posted: 07/16/2024 00:29:21

Hi Harley,

You have a knack for capturing bird images! I have a few suggestions based on my quest to photograph flying birds as well as white objects.

To get the motion very crisp, I've been told by Jackie Deely (https://www.jacquelinedeely.com/Galleries/Birds ) that 1/1,000 is the minimum speed with 1/1,200 preferred and 1/2,000 if conditions allow. Then when I was on a trip with National Geographic photographer Jeff Mauritzan (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/experts/jeff-mauritzen/ ) I noticed he favored speeds of 1/3,000+. He had very high end gear that would allow a correct exposure at those speeds. Nothing I could do!

Regarding overexposure, moving objects are too difficult to use spot metering, which would be preferred. I've been told that to compensate for the camera using an average scene exposure, it's preferable to underexpose by 1/3 to 2/3 stops. That will allow correct exposure of the bright white spots. Then if all those adjustments screw up the DOF, I found I can reduce it to 4.0 for a flying bird.

Some photographers I've talked to will underexpose by as much as 2 full stops! This will result in a darker background and then you can adjust the brightness of the bird to what you prefer while maintaining all the detail.

Please let me know if you gathered any tips for flying birds! I'm always looking for them.
  Posted: 07/16/2024 17:59:49

I like your cropped version which makes the subject more outstanding. The gull is sharp with a blurred background. It is eating something, that adds mark to the photo.   Posted: 07/17/2024 05:09:12

Hi Harley, shooting birds is all about positioning. The sun needs to be behind you, in this case the sun was above you so you had light on top of the gull and not much under its wings or on its body. That said, you have a great shot of a gull with lunch in its beak which is what a nature photographer wants. These shots are harder to get and take patience. A bird in flight or posed on the shore is a nice shot, but PSA will give more weight to shots of birds "doing something" in their competitions (eating, tending to young etc.). I like your capture with wings up and fish in the beak--very good composition. You might try to burn the brighter areas as Mark suggested and I would also like to see you try to lighten the body and underside of the close wing.   Posted: 07/18/2024 15:26:06

This was well done, Harley. You made the best of tough conditions. With a bird colored like this, keeping detail is not easy. Your crop was a great choice, and really helps us focus on the bird. Agreed, the angle and time of day was not ideal, but you were where and when you were, so you did what you could with a difficult situation. I love the drop coming off of his lunch.   Posted: 07/26/2024 15:40:03

This looks like a happy bird, ready for lunch, dinner whatever! It is difficult to shoot a white bird with the sun right on it. It is best to photograph them with the sun behind and lower your exposure. It takes a lot of practice and thousands of clicks to get it right. Keep at it, you have a nice image.   Posted: 07/27/2024 15:04:24