Gulls In Flight

[SCraig]

I hung around the lake this morning for a couple of hours just watching the gulls flying around. They are amazing birds, and can do amazing things in the air. I couldn't help but think of the book Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach while watching them because some really seemed enthralled with their ability to fly.

The can stick those big wings out and catch the air and glide for what seems like forever .....

They can tuck their wings in and come screaming through like a bullet ....

They can control their wings well enough to virtually hover over the water ....

And they are coordinated enough to skim along the surface of the water grabbing food from the surface.

Lot of fun to watch. I may do it again tomorrow

 

[PixelRabbit]

Great set! I agree, I could watch and shoot the gulls forever.
I wish the first two had a little more room in front of them to move into, 3 is great and 4, with the duck and splash of water... Yum!!

 

[shefjr]

Great captures Scott! Really crisp detail. My favorite is number 4.

 

[MSnowy]

Very nice. Like #1 the most

 

[Ron Evers]

Cannot pic a fav, they are all great shots with something special in each.

 

[sm4him]

Just outstanding, all of them. If I had to pick a favorite, maybe the last one. Or the third. Or...meh, I don't HAVE to pick just one!!

I am *definitely* gonna have to plan an extra day into my trip next time I come out that way so we can meet up and you can give me some pointers!

 

[Mach0]

Beautiful. Was this with the sigma ?

 

[SCraig]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the comments and I'm glad you like them.

Great set! I agree, I could watch and shoot the gulls forever.
I wish the first two had a little more room in front of them to move into, 3 is great and 4, with the duck and splash of water... Yum!!

They are all heavily cropped so there is plenty of room. The first I kind of like that way. The second is a bit cramped but I wanted the detail in his eye. I may take another look at them though

Great captures Scott! Really crisp detail. My favorite is number 4.

Very nice. Like #1 the most

Cannot pic a fav, they are all great shots with something special in each.

Thanks guys. Ron, the fact that they were all slightly different yet similar was the intent. They are unique birds and can do things in the air that I've not seen other birds do. Well, not combined in one bird

Just outstanding, all of them. If I had to pick a favorite, maybe the last one. Or the third. Or...meh, I don't HAVE to pick just one!!

I am *definitely* gonna have to plan an extra day into my trip next time I come out that way so we can meet up and you can give me some pointers!

Any time. These were all shot at the lake in Shelby Park this morning. It's a relatively small lake to start with and long and narrow at that. Where I shoot from the lake is only about 60 yards wide. The parking lot adjoins the lake and I have been known to open the back of my XTerra and shoot out of the back when it's raining The gulls are probably transients but there are always ducks and geese around there.

Beautiful. Was this with the sigma ?

Yes, they were all with the 150-500 Sigma. I had to check the EXIF though since I did shoot with my 70-300 for a while today. Someone parked next to me and threw a bunch of bread out and there were birds EVERYWHERE for a while, and they were too close for even 150mm

 

[ceeboy14]

Lat one is a super capture...good eye detail as well as the overall grace of these birds.

 

[BlackSheep]

I loved Jonathon Livingston Seagull! Your photos do a very nice job of showing what Jonathon's flying practice would have looked like, for sure

 

[SCraig]

Lat one is a super capture...good eye detail as well as the overall grace of these birds.

Thanks, much appreciated.

I watched that bird do that and I'm still not how he did it. He swooped down to the surface and then kind of hover-walked along the surface skimming his bill in the water. You can see his left foot is up and dripping water because he was walking at the same time he was flying. Really interesting to watch.

 

[SCraig]

I loved Jonathon Livingston Seagull! Your photos do a very nice job of showing what Jonathon's flying practice would have looked like, for sure

Thanks!

I haven't read JLS in decades but I think we still have it on one of the bookcases. My wife used to be a huge Richard Bach fan and at one time we had all his books. I may have to hunt it up after watching them today, it's a pretty quick read.

 

[coastalconn]

Nice looking gulls, Scott!

 

[Rick58]

Very nice Scott. There's really nothing else to say that hasn't already been posted. I couldn't pick a favorite. They're all great.

 

[SCraig]

Thanks, Kris and Rick. I appreciate the comments and I'm glad they stack up

I wish they stayed around here all year, but they don't. I'm not sure where they come from, but probably from somewhere up around you Kris