Break Out

Uploaded: March 13, 2008

Description

f/5.3, 1/1600, 70-300mmVR@210mm, DSC_9296, 7:35AM, ISO400

This gull was bathing itself just-off Miami's South Beach when it was about to be engulfed by this breaker. I captured it as it leaped to the safety of the sky shedding sea water in the process. The image has been cropped and adjusted with Apple's iPhoto app. Enjoy!

Exif: F Number: 5.3, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/1600 seconds, Flash: did not fire., ISO: 400, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 210.00 mm, Model: NIKON D40

Comments

Sherry McClead March 13, 2008

Another great capture Michael! Can almost taste the salt water in the air... what time of day? #876556

isabel C. Zepeda level-classic March 13, 2008

Wow.
Michael another beautiful capture,all your photos are perfect.
Ysa #5637161

Aimee C. Eisaman March 13, 2008

YOu are a patient man Michael to get these great shots! I love the breaker chasing this gull. Nice comp. Did you crop off the tip of that wing or was it shot that way? Just wondering why you didn't include that. You title is nice, but I just thought of a neat one for this I thought I'd share....."the great escape"! :-) #5637690

Eivor Kuchta March 13, 2008

I love the action here, how the wave is forming, and the gull taking off. I've been looking at the picture for a while, trying to decide what I really think of that wing cut off. I think it would have been nicer to have the whole wing, but that might not work for your composition. My thoughts... #5637770

Joan E. Hoffman March 13, 2008

This is incredible! Great shot Michael! #5639306

Michael S. Lazarus March 14, 2008

First of all, Thank you Sherry, Isabel, Aimee, Eivor, and Joan for you wonderful comments.

Second, regarding the gulls clipped wing, I did not have the wing tip in the original photo. I actually cropped more of it off in the version you see here. My focus when taking the shot was on getting the wave and the gull together and though I would have liked to have had the full bird to experiment with, I think this image still has more impact in that it's closer to the action. I have done some research here at BP (by way of the subject search option under photos) and see many finalists that only have portions of the birds in them. This does not seem to be a fatal flaw in terms of judging. I have included them below as this was somewhat of a surprise to me as well but it's something to take note of for all of us when considering cropping and composition. Use the search function to see these images:


Casey A. Hanson's "Another gull shot......." Finalist
Doug Gibson's "Water's Edge" Finalist
Donna R. Moratelli's "A Running Start" Finalist #5641567

Michael S. Lazarus March 14, 2008

To find these photos referenced above, it might be easier look through the subject category MARINE BIRDS. You will find these photos and many others in the first couple of pages. It really is an eye opening experience and gives great insight into what works in terms of composition factors. I'm very curious to see what happens with this one. #5641634

Aimee C. Eisaman March 14, 2008

I'll be curios to know too after looking at those finalists! Those are gulls with parts missing, but one difference from those shots and yours is that they are single subject shots and yours is more of a story. After looking at your photo again going up higher would have shown the washed out reflections of the sun.....you made a good choice of moving the crop down to where you did! #5642327

Eivor Kuchta March 14, 2008

Thank you Michael, for an eye-opener here. I checked out the ones you referred to. I didn't like the first one at all. Art is very subjective. I think I leave too much empty space sometimes in my cropping, just to get a nice composition. I should perhaps be more brave.
This was probably the way the composition worked best in this scene. It's a wonderful capture, with or without wing tip. #5642733

Candice L. Carter March 18, 2008

Great capture Michael! Very crisp and rich in color! #5660210

Candice L. Carter March 18, 2008

Great capture Michael! Very crisp and rich in color! #5660211

Michael S. Lazarus March 21, 2008

Thank you Candice for your comment. #5674240

May 30, 2008

Michael, you sure have the touch ! Nice work! #5996307

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