Low Light California Gull In Flight During A Snow Storm

California Gull in flight during a snow storm – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 2500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

There have been a lot of gray days for me here lately in northern Utah, yesterday morning the fog was super thick, there has been rain falling in the valley and snow has been falling in the mountains and that is good because we need the moisture here especially the snow in the mountains since that snow will help to fill our reservoirs which were horribly low earlier in the fall.

These low light, gray days though aren’t always the best for most bird photography but give me a good snow storm and I truly enjoy being out taking photos of birds when the snow is flying. It is more challenging to photograph birds during a snow storm than it is when I have golden light plus it can be wet, cold, and miserable but I like to challenge my skills and I adore having falling snow in my images. Besides that, if the birds can tough out the weather, so can I.

There were a few days last winter when the light was low plus the snow was falling when I couldn’t resist going down to the local pond to check out what birds were there and to see if I could photograph any of them. I see California Gulls here year round but they do seem to congregate in higher numbers at the pond when it is colder as long as the pond hasn’t completely iced over and it was warm enough last year that the pond never did freeze except along the shoreline.

During the winter I have opportunities to photograph California Gulls in flight in snow storms in low light and while images like this one aren’t appealing to everyone’s tastes I like them a lot. Part of the reason is the challenge but photos like this one remind me that the birds are there no matter what the weather conditions are and that I can be out there with them too.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my California Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.