Immature Bonaparte's Gull

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

BonapartesGull
BonapartesGull1920×1372 634 KB

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Would do you think about my comp and sharpness? I reduced the sharpening in my post processing

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

I’m still getting used to the Nikon colors and my Lightroom upgrade seems to handle the colors better than before.

Any pertinent technical details:

D500, 600mm f4 (1/2000sec at f8.0, Iso 800). Crop to 7 by 5, Camera Standard, Levels, DeNoise, Shadows & Highlights, Brightness & Contrast. The hawk watch at Lake Erie Metropark was a bust so I went out seeking other subjects. I rarely get a chance to photograph Bonaparte’s gulls and to get some up-close views is rare. I was able to approach a group of them closely and was able to get some nice close-ups and a series of one of the three getting at an itch…Jim

2

A very nice portrait, Jim. A horizontal pose like this is always difficult to frame, but I think this works pretty well. Maybe a touch more room on the left, if it’s available. The colors and sharpening look good. Thewre’s not much fine detail visible on the breast, but the feathers there are extremely fine, so unless you have glancing light they won’t show.

3

I think it is always difficult to bring out plumage details on the white part of the gull. For some reason the white on white feathers have very little contrast. Dennis also pointed this out. The darker plumage looks just about right with respect to the sharpening.

4

Thank you. I redid the post processing and was able to get quite a bit of detail in the white areas of the breast. Too much brightness. …Jim