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I like this a lot. The background is blurred enough not to be distracting yet you can still tell it is the Seattle skyline. The overcast sky acted as a natural softbox so there is no harsh shadows on the gull. It may be my monitor but the red spot seems a bit saturated to me and would tone it down a bit.
I think I prefer the shot leveled out, myself. Not just to level the water but to balance the gull a bit, as well. He looks as though he is leaning forward a touch.
As far as color, DOF, composition, light, story, etc... I think you nailed it. On my monitor the color looks great. As Janice said, the DOF works very well; blurred just enough. The exposure looks just about perfect. He may be a tad blown out on the shoulder, but with all of that white it's hard to tell. I like the composition. I think you placed the bird well as to frame him with the space needle and skyline.
It looks like the majority opinion is that it's a good shot. I would tend to agree, up to a point. I like the separation of the gull from the skyline, while still leaving the background shapes recognizable. I wasn't bothered by any possible tilt to the horizon.
However, I think it would be helped compositionally if the gull weren't right smack in the center. IMHO, the left hand side - behind the gull - doesn't add much to the photo, so maybe you could try cropping some off the left and see if you think it is better or not.
Nice shot....sharp where it needs to be and out of focus where it needs to be. I only wish I could see the bird's feet. No sure why that bothers me but it's not anything you could have controlled anyway.
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