Untitled

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Quite a capture, with enough symmetry to make it interesting and enough asymmetry to keep it from becoming too boring. I'm impressed by the gradation of tones in the rear feathers, by the bright wing on the left versus the dark one on the right, and by the smoothness of the bird's shoulders versus the texture of its underside. Nicely caught.

A wonderful capture!

It looks like arms ready to embrace. I don't know what's in the background: a cloudy sky perhaps, but it contrasts perfectly with the rest of the image. The contrast in the plumage is just right with the head and shoulders and the left eye catching most of the light, the tail somewhat transparent and the left wing shaded. This is worthy of a photography textbook.

Is that bird looking at me? The eye contact is amazing.

That has got to be one of the COOLEST nature shots i've ever seen!!! Great Job! It's the epitome of frozen action.

Lol agreed Doug.. it looks like the bird is saying come on you want a piece of this!!! Great capture of what appears to be a hostile look.
May i ask why with the black&white?? Just currious as to what the color would look like.
Don

Amazing, really amazing, bird in flight capture !
As I'm trying to get some, I know the hard work it is, just to get one right in the viewfinder, neat, in the good light and so...!
In addition, You do got a very special attitude and a, the look !
Just a word about the white a bit too white on the soulders; maybe due to the B&W post-treatment...?
However it's a wonderful image that I would like to have in my portfolio !

Beautiful black and white and one of the most stunning wildlife photographs I've ever seen. To me...it is flawless. Fully deserving of Photo of the Week.

Stunning and arresting capture of a bird in flight. I too wonder what a coloured version would be like.

Great timing & capture. Very menacing looking. I like the folded wings as well. A bit different than the full wingspan which is the norm. The B&W tones are also very good

Very outstanding shot with fine details...I`m sure that this shot is very strong,because of good viewing,catching the scene,posture and well composed!!
Thnx for sharing it and wish you all my best.

I think what disconnects me from this image more than any is it seems an almost rejection of nature in its treatment, which for a nature photo is unsettling. Birds fly in the endless void of the sky but there is no sense of a sky even, and there is no color, no context, it could be a bird stuffed in a museum except for the wing blur. It's well-captured and great eye contact, though I really don't like the crop, but for me this has little of what make wildlife photographs compelling, beyond a somewhat interesting form, and most any series of well captured birds in flight (medium to large birds anyway) photos will also have a few with dynamic form just by chance if nothing else, it's the nature of the discipline. Here there is a cool form and eye contact, but no biological or behavioral insights, unusual species, interesting habitat, surprising or new form, species interaction, color, context, etc. For spartan interpretations such as this, essentially a portrait, it's claustrophobic due to the post-processing, and somehow drab despite the tonal range. It's a good bird photo, but for me not a POTW out of all the amazing wildlife photos on this site.

Brett, Your observations and opinions about this shot are accurate, however, I appreciate this shot for that very exact reason: it's well done, and NOT like "all the amazing wildlife photos on this site." Years ago, I learned of something called the standard excellent photo. What that means is that excellent photos are so prevalent, they've become the standard, and therefore common. While the amazing wildlife photos on this site are quite excellent, they are also quite common. After a while, they are no longer the salt that brings out the flavor in drab food, but rather, they become the drab food.

I like this picture ! really Cool Frame :)

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please Critic my photo :)

This photo probably comes close to capturing true bird phsyche better than any I have seen in a long time. It has much more going for it than the pretty picture nature photo we all see so many of.

Yes, the image has technical flaws, but the intenseness of the expression on the gull is the photo. The photo need not be anything else. It is powerful. It is bird.

We can impose human ideas of psyche or "the soul" of a creature, or how intense it is, but they are just that, human projections that may or may not be at all real or relevant. I don't care for this as a POTW because it really has neither compelling aesthetics or interest level. It may have been aesthetically compelling before it was processed to be so unnatural, but it really doesn't say or reveal anything. The form is nice, and it was cool to capture it looking at the camera, but it's still just a flying gull looking at the camera. If one goes back to past wildlife POTWs like the fighting eagles, this is nowhere in the same league.

The photo is fine. The focus is right on - look at the eyes. The exposure is right on - from the darker wing tips, under wing, and highlighted head and shoulders. The shutter speed allowing the suggestion of movement in the wings is right on.

I can't think of anything wrong with the picture taken. Unless the near symmetry of the placement in the middle of the frame lessens the emotional impact of this portrait.

But, I have a wish. About a crop. When I first viewed it on my display, the bottom of picture was below the view window. So I saw from top to half-past his knees. "His knees"? My suggestion would be crop it midway between his knees and his feet.

"He"? My first impression was that of an orchestra conductor. I can't shake it. If it were my picture, and I was to display it, I would background it with a symphonic overture like the First Movement of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony. I can hear it now.

The picture is right on. I would try a different presentation.