Seagulls are common subjects in travel photography. To make an uncommon picture of one, I’ve used backlighting to abstract the bird and the roof it is perched upon. When abstracted, the shapes of both roof and bird can speak to us without distraction, and more easily guide the eye through the picture. I included the rooftop rod at left because it is higher than the gull, and leads us down to it. I shot this gull many times, hoping to get its beak in this exact position. The shape of the beak echoes the pointed shape of the roof shingle just to the right of it. Five more tiles gradually lead us down and out of the picture.
The huge cloud behind the gull offers a visual counterpoint to the mass of the roof. Between the cloud and the roof, we see clear sky. This is called “negative space.” Negative space often helps us organize our pictures. In this case, it creates a light gray wedge that points directly to the gull, the subject of the photograph-.