[Sagitta]

Going back through some of my old stuff, I came across this one.

Personally, this shot never really 'clicked' with me (for whatever reason), but I uploaded it to my flickr for the hell of it just to get opinions since The Other Half said she thought it was really neat.

To my surprise, the few places I shared it seemed to generally net the shot positive comments, both on flickr and elsewhere.

Then I realized I don't think I ever shared it here on PF.

Since I don't like the shot (but others do) I figured I'd stick it in the critique section to see if someone else mentions something that will make me realize why *I* don't like it either.

This was shot with an old Sears 135mm f/2.8 manual lens - the non-glowy one - probably around f/8-ish.

[weakhead]

I like it - it's so simple, minimalistic.
I would even the line, however.

[bdparker]

I love it, images that simple have gone for millions
The only thing I'd do would be to straighten it a little, up on the right.

[Macario]

composition wise I like it. But the background color fails to let the gulls stand out, it looks like they are cut out of another shot and put on this background

[bigted]

I like the simplicity of the shot too.

[Kozlok]

It's classically simple, very modern looking. Put that in a black frame and sell it for big bucks!

[Sagitta]

As far as the horizon line goes, its actually straight (or very, very close). Maybe I could nudge it a degree northwards and see if it improves things.

If I'm really lucky maybe I still have the RAW for it, but I don't think I do.

[asp1880]

I think the shot would be stronger if one of the birds stood out in some way - different size, orientation, species, colour, something. That's not something you can fix in post though, unless you're willing to downright manipulate.

Number 3 from the left looks to the side while the others look straight ahead. I see that now. Nevertheless, I think I uphold my critique.

Regards,
--Anders.

[VTerlakyPhoto]

I like the simplicity here, the composition is great. My only nit would be that there isn't enough contrast between the gulls' head and the background, otherwise it's definitely a keeper

[Gregory_51]

Hello
I like the simplicity too. I suppose it would be nice if say the second one from the right was doing something something different (stupid seagulls just can't follow directions ). I agree that it's lacking contrast and they don't stand out. I personally don't like the strong blue cast which to me looks like the wb being off rather than a choice. A levels adjustment layer click auto and click the white eyedropper makes them stand out much better. I personally think since it's nearly a monochrome anyway that it's nicer that way did a quick edit as a toned monochrome posted it here. 2012-11-22_090634 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Cheers
Greg

[Alliecat]

Yeah, I like it too. Simple. Maybe you didn't like it because you thought there wasn't enough in it.
I was once told that odd numbers of things work better in photos than even... would it strike you better if there were only 5 gulls...?
I like that it has some colour, although the gulls too are kinda blue. Maybe a colour cast somewhere between this blue & straight b&w? Unless you want to adjust the colour on the gulls individually...