Bathing in Public

[FootLoose]

I haven't been able to get about much lately due to knee problems, so on this occasion I just plonked myself down near a flock of gulls and watched the action. It was late afternoon with broken cloud, so the light is a bit dodgy in some shots. All C&C welcome.
(Best viewed in lytebox)

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8


#9



And after all that, I didn't get the shot I wanted. Next time...

[John 2]

Interesting series though Greg and I particularly like 6, 7 and 9. I think there is a different image in 7 if you crop to concentrate on the RH gull in that lovely pool of light and 9 IMHO, needs a bit more head room if it's there (or if you can add it).

[IzzieK]

Well....what sort of shot would you have wanted to take instead? Anyway, this is a nice series, Greg...I particularly like #4 and #8 amongst these.

Maybe your knee pain isn't arthritis, mate...4 years ago I had been experiencing excruciating pains in my right knee up to my back. Turned out that I damaged my meniscus. My orthopedist who operated on it was a very pleasant and handsome doctor. It helped the healing process. -- everytime I feel pain and make an appointment to see him, the pain disappears so I have to cancel most of the time. I hate doctors!

[Rebel]

Nice series of shots there... #1 and #9 my favourites

[Stagecoach]

And a good series Greg, I'm going for 3 & 4.

[bnnrcn]

Nice series Greg, my favs are 3,4 and 9

[chauncey]

Coincidently, it was just yesterday while in a parking lot, that a plethora of seagulls had my attention.
They are a prolific, adaptable creature and are a great subject to practice BIF shooting.

You've done a great job in handling tricky exposure present in that scenario, nice shots.

[HaseebM]

Very nice images, like 4, 6 & 7.

[Brownbear]

I especially adore #8 & #9.

#8 for the beautiful capture of the moment, wing position and feet, before landing on silvery seas.

#9 for the lighter exposure, amazing focus on the eye, use of DOF and the silvery seas. The gull in the foreground is amazingly beautiful! (due to your photography)

[FootLoose]

John, Izzie, Matt, Grahame, Binnur, William, Haseeb, and Christina, thank you all for viewing and commenting.

John, thanks for the cropping suggestions. I'll post them here. There is plenty of headroom in the 9th. It was a busy background, but I don't think it distracts too much.

Izzie, something like the revised crop of #7 with more defined water drops, and the bird in a more graceful pose would have made me happy. Also, after looking the hundreds of shots I took on that day, and watching them for well over an hour, I saw other potential shots but none of which I happened to fluke amongst that collection. However, a week late when I returned I did get a couple of them which I will post soon.

William, I had never paid such close attention to gulls before. They always seemed like a noisy bunch splashing a lot of water about, and squabbling amongst themselves. But I noticed that they appear to have a method to washing themselves, one part of the body at a time, and then hovering to dry off.

Christina, "The gull in the foreground is amazingly beautiful! (due to your photography)" -- what a beautiful compliment, thankyou. The few people who see my photographs usually compliment my camera (but we all get that, I guess). Regarding #8 -- as I was saying, they face into the wind, spread their wings and lift vertically, open their flight feathers so the wind passes straight through, and when they have blown the water off, just drop back down into the same spot.

#7 new crop




#9 new crop