Ghosting gull

Camariñas, Galicia, Spain. Nikon D7000, Nikon 70-300 at 300mm,

VR on, 1/6th sec, f8, ISO 100, hand held.

Shot against the sky, in order to have uncluttered background, just

after sunset in order to get slow shutter speeds, maybe with a

polarising filter at first.

I am curious as to the physical explanation for this phenomenon.

The image is slightly cropped. One single shot, no compositing, no

multiple exposure, no post processing manipulation, beyond

levels, curves, saturation, spot healing, etc.

Why does this produce three superimposed images, not just one

continuous blur? Would a film camera produce the same results?

Anecdotally, this was the first time since purchase just over a year

ago that I had used my D7000 pointing upwards into the sky.

Subsequently I noticed I had oil spots on the sensor. Nikon repairs

in Madrid have cleaned it free of charge.

Thank you sincerely for any suggestions.

It looks strange, but in a good way. If i had to guess i'd say a front weighted flash went off - but thats not the answer. Another source of stroboscopic light maybe.

Or perhaps the simplest - the bird seems frozen on the point of motion where it stays the longest - top and bottom of the wing strokes - rest is a blurr.

Anyway - nice photo

/Svend Erik

Jon, This is mysterious. It could be a change in evolution: development from fish into a bird. Best regards, Marco

Amazing capture.