Black Headed Gull

Hi everyone. I thought I'd grab half an hour one day after work, while the light was good, last week. Practicing my panninig technique was my aim. I was hoping for some ducks or swans, but was surrounded by B H Gulls as soon as I reached for some bread. They saw me from about 800yds away, wish my eyes were that sharp, lol. The evening light was lovely, with a cloudless sky. Here is one of my efforts, all comments welcome.
Regards,
Paul.

Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm lens, hand held.

f5.6, 1/1600sec, ISO 200, @215mm.

Its a nice image but maybe a tad to0 dark ( although i am not 100 pct sure about that...) and i would like it also a tad larger or a bit of a crop.
Rene de Heer

I agree with Rene here a traditional landscape crop would suit better with a lift with the shadow and hightlight filter .There are a few digital echos around the bird which require a better clone job , nice image though .

The bird looks good against that deep, blue sky.

Great attempt with good detail but light looks rather difficult.

You have handled the harsh light very well Paul.

Th etraditional crop is better IMHO.

Cheers

Austin

Really like the lighting on this one Paul, good detail too.

Andy...

Hi Paul, difficult lighting and I prefer the second picture.