Frozen frenzy - Kristin Mccrea - Wildlife Photographer of the Year2007

2007: Behaviour: Birds - Runner-up

Kristin Mccrea Enlarge image Frozen frenzy

Kristin Mccrea (Canada)

Frozen frenzy

'Gulls are a challenge to photograph. By feeding them on Lake Ontario, Canada, I had partial control over the composition. The bravest ones hovered, landing as I backed away, on my knees in the snow, shooting as I went. This gave me just enough time to frame the commotion.' Once killed for its feathers, for hats, the ring-billed gull population has recovered and it is now one of the most common gulls in North America. This sea bird is found along ocean and lake coasts hunting for fish, earthworms, insects and small rodents such as mice. Like all gulls, it breeds in colonies with hundreds of other gulls.

Canon EOS 10D + 70-300mm IS lens at 300mm; 1/1000 sec at f10.8; ISO 400.