Juvenile Ring-billed Gull.

[Daniel Cadieux]

These guys are so underrated and underappreciated....check out the way-cool plumage pattern on the dorsal side!

Canon 7DII + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/2000s., f/8, ISO 400, natural light, handheld, about 70% FF (originally as a vertical as well).

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

Kind of like a female mallard, lots to like, just not flashy!

Great dorsal display, head turn, soft background.

Perhaps a bit more sharpening on the bird?

Cheers

Randy

[Bill Dix]

Terrific banking shot that shows his young plumage to perfection. Great flight angle toward you. Nice work getting it as a vertical.

[Colin Driscoll]

Great wing spread and soft light. Agree, a lot of the young gulls have subtle detail in their plumage. Upper wing looks like it could do with a little more sharpening. Pity the bird wasn't a little higher to get away from the intersecting background pattern.

[Matt Sutherland]

Daniel! Those patterns are beautiful! I don't know how you feel about a square crop, but I think this image can certainly hold up to a significant amount off the top and bottom. Maybe a little more sharpening as others suggest. But I really think that plumage should be showcased more! Nice work!

[gail bisson]

I really like this and the included habitat is very nice. Love that dorsal view.
Yes to a bit more sharpening!

[Dorian Anderson]

Very nice, and its nice to see gulls getting some respect! Yes to more sharpening, and yes to a more off top and bottom, maybe with 8x10 crop instead of 1 x 1.5.
graded background is wonderful. I might add a few points of black for contrast. You have the detail to spare it.

[Arthur Morris]

Great on a rare vertical original and great that it was perfectly executed. A note on the plumage: images that show complete juvenile plumage with no upperparts molt are possible only near the breeding grounds. When this species arrives in NY or FLA it always shows upperparts molt. And yes, the dorsal view is superb.

with love, artie