Color, texture, symytry, composition, balance, drama, action, great exposure latitude... and I just burned my dinner. Did I say "captivating"? This has it all.

Love it!

The only word for it, as usual mr. Donohoe. My only niggle is the lone bird is a bit too far right for balance? Or perhaps too far left? Whichever, it doesn't quite hit the 10 spot, for me.

Still a very solid 9 though!

Great picture and wonderful colours and patterns in the sand. It looks like it is still covered by water (but it isn't, is it?). Makes we want to go to Sligo. :-)

By the way - I'm not sure about the bright blue sky at the top right. I would have been tempted to make it look like the sky at the left - maybe that would be better. Maybe not.

feel to this one Eugene. I like it a lot and I also think the blue sky in the upper right-hand corner work, at least for me. As John points out, these birds must have been brought in as extras, 'cause they sure finish the image off. How long did you have to wait for their appearance?

This would have been a great candidate for the calendar project. Oh well, there's always next year Eugene!

I like the blue sky and the "layout" of the birds ("just move a little further to the left, please").

One question though - did you crouch down to take this or is it from a normal standing position?

Eugene - this is simply wonderful. I could well imagine this on a wall, really big! How did you get the gulls to hang in there so perfectly ;-)?

Thanks for sharing this

Yvonne

Eugene:

I can't add much to what others have said. It's a very impressive image.

I'm a bit surprised that you got this kind of clarity at 1/50 without a tripod...and presumably with wet feet.

Best wishes...

joe

I would have framed this differently. Then again, I probably would not have captured the birds and with different framing and positioning, it would be my image, not yours!

A lovely image, and one to be very happy with Eugene. I am giving this a 9 for now, but do plan in revisitring this image.

Colours are very muted - nice. Those birds are the only thing neither quiet nor dead...

I love it.

Many thanks to all of you for your very nice and encouraging comments. Our trip was marred just a tiny bit by so much rain but then its great to come away with that one really good image that you like and want to keep. I'm glad you all enjoyed it as much as I have. A fair bit of work went into this when I got home as conditions were difficult to work with at the time - wind and trying to get a shot in between the rain.

Sorry about your dinner Gary!

Very perceptive of you John, yes the birds were brought in but from this shoot. I couldn't get them in the frame for this shot but I did manage to shoot some further down the beach, so although they weren't part of this image initially, I did previsualise them in the finished image, so in these circumstances that feels acceptable to me in that they were part of the scene and came from that context and not brought in from elsewhere. I felt their presence was necessary to convey the kind of drama present on the beach at that time.

Go to Sligo Caroline you'll love it - the name of this place is Mullaghmore a famous place here in the history of the Irish 'troubles'. This is where the IRA blew up Mountbatten's ship. I say this as a historical fact and not in any way by way of support for such an awful thing to do.

The positioning of the birds was an issue I spent a good few agonising moments over. In the end I decided to place them at that point in the sky where the beach lines were converging. Thats what felt right to me but will be disagreed with by others and thats ok too. The blue sky felt right to leave there as conditions changed rapidly when there. I also felt it gives a sense of a storm coming in and good weather on the run.

Danny I crouched down to take this shot as I wanted to get the wave lines on the beach from this perspective.

Thanks Yvonne - I agree with you about the print. I intend to do just that with it.

Yes so was I Joe. I'm good at hand holding prior to a pint.

Again, many thanks to you all for your comments.

This is my 1st visit to MFT in over a week. I've been wondering what I've been missing. I might have missed this altogether if it hadn't popped up at the top of the page just before I retired to bed. Am I glad it did, I just went Wow!

What can you say. A masterpiece! I agree with your placement ot the gulls.

Breathtaking picture, Eugene. In your line. Excellent!!!

perfect!!

Isn't it about time you started taking this snapshot stuff seriously, Eugene ? :-)

I'm extremely jealous.

Chris, Charles, David, Robert and David. Thanks very much. Blush. I can't believe how well this has been received. Thank you all very much. I'd love to give up the day job :-)

so use your shorttrip to shot a great pic. i m also jealous. i spent my days after christmas (till yesterday) with toothache. now the nerve is dead (and gone) and i m delighted to comment again...

Interesting to read that you got those birds from another picture because my first reaction to this after having admired the sand was that I should wish the birds (all four of them) were not there. But I thought I couldn't suggest that you cloned them away since you had captured them so well. :-D

Having been away and out of www reach I'd been trying to catch up with commenting in a disciplined and ordered way.

Well I cannot and this image kept disappearing and then reappearing at the No1 slot and I kept thinking I'll get round to that one soon. So I've just decided to abandon method and make the comment.

Great!

Thanks Michael, Doro, John, Caroline and Rex. Good to see you back again Rex. Yes, I find it quite a job of work to catch up on images when I've been away so I just comment on the ones that really strike me. Thanks again.

Yes, it looks like this will be in the Hall of Fame, and well deserved too I must add. But I too think Caroline has a point. I might like this even a little bit more without the birds... ;-)

Many thanks again for kind words. I think I will get a good quality print of this one. The debate about the birds is interesting and one I had with myself before I did it. I think the main reason I did it is because they were there on the beach and I wanted them in but couldn't get them in this shot from this perspective. Another reason is that there was some really bad weather on the way in and later that day the weather was awful - wind and rain. The birds gathering and flying was all part of the drama on the beach. Right or wrong? I don't know! In the end I'm pleased with my image and I'm glad that it has been appreciated as much as it has. You're comments mean a lot to me and equally so, those which ask me to reflect on different perspectives. Much appreciated and many thanks again.

PERFECT! A1! EXCELLENT!

the position of the birds is unique cum mystical! Everything placed exactly where it should (as opposed to what Tim Yorath stated).

Thanks Chris. I appreciate your comments and taking the time to look,

Many thanks Pascal for your kind comments. I hope your problems with your folders gets sorted soon.

BEAUUUUUUUTIFUL! Congrats!

Hello Eugene,

a really great shot of this fine landscape. I like the color.

B.r.

oriwo

on the inclusion of this image in the Hall-of-Fame.

I know its after the fact but I'm just continuing to browse your images and wanted to leave my support for the HoF awarded here. The flatness of the sand seems at odds with the beautiful pattern and that interaction alone holds my interest. Further interest is provided by the contrast between the ultra-flat beach and the texture in the dramatic clouds. The birds are a nice touch and really add to the great sense of depth.