From RAW, run through Photomatix Pro for a little tone mapping, dropped into PS7
Levels, hue/sat, gradients top, bottom, sides to contain, a little cloning where a beak met a tail, resize, USM, border, save for web
*******
What a day, Weather prediction was for 50 mph+ winds and gusting rainstorms. Got up an hour before dawn and drove down-cape all the way to Provincetown to photograph the "raging Atlantic"; Wind was not that strong, waves not very interesting, rain pelting down. Poked my way back south, stops at Truro and Wellfleet and Eastham (all the usual haunts), gloomy dawn, slathering rain, nothing looked worth shooting.
Got home, went back to bed. Watched football after waking up, later in the afternoon the wind was HOWLING and the rain had stopped, though the skies were solid gray, so I trundled down to my local beach where I knew the gulls would be gathered sitting out the storm. Started raining again, hard. Backed my car in at an angle to various spots along the beach bulkhead so the wind wasn't coming directly in the window and shot a TON of pictures at 70 to 200mm handheld, ISO 400, wide open, 1/200 shutter.I have a bunch of pictures of whole flocks of gulls wuth dirty surf behind them, but while pretty nice they look chaotic. THIS one, on the other hand, is the only one quite like it. It's perhaps a little less "windy" looking, but to my eyes at least it still looks stormy as hell. Hope you agree. Took me half an hour to dry off the gear, but the deep lens hood on the 70-200 kept the front element from collecting any water drops.
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You are so brave to weather the elements on that blustery day! I'm a true Californian...on wintry days, I always post a sign outside my door, "Wake me when it's Spring!" I love seagull photos and yours is quite exceptional!
Quite a nice capture. Though it seems a little oversaturated, I like the way it turned out. The colors of the waves are quite nice, and the birds all facing the same direction, even in flight, depict "wind" to me.
OOoo bootiful! Amazing how they fly zigzag in those strong winds
without colliding then sit drenched in those winds without suffering from hypothermia. Love the colors, it looks so .... windy.
I've come back to this several times. It might not denote wind as much as some say it should, but I really like the composition of some on the shore and some on the wing. The muted brown and gray tones are very soothing.
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