This was one of the adult barred owls’ favorite perches for a summer. Luckily, it was close, at eye level, and had a distant background.
Techs:
D3s
500mm f/4 AF-S II
1/500
f/5
ISO 1000
Did the usual–resized for posting, sharpened the bird, and ran NR on the BG. Wild owl, neither baited nor called. All feedback welcome.
Very good color, perch, pose, and background. Although I prefer the in-flight image, this one is almost as nice. You might want to consider a square crop just to see what it looks like with a little less on the right side.
Nice look at the owl and I like the setting.
Excellent job on the owl, Lyle. The detail and lighting are very good. I’m a bit puzzled by the wide angle crop for a vertical subject. It feels like a lot of excess greenery to me and the one bright out of focus patch on the right draws my eye quite a bit.
Thanks all for the suggestions. I have never settled on the right crop for this image. It is full frame along the bottom, so that limits some options. Def. think I need to lose some off the right, but I personally really like all the vegetation. Have to revisit another time. @Sandy_Richards-Brown, I’d like to see what you come up with.
Ah, I just typed a response. I do like your comp.–and def. do not mind you working on my images! Given the low amount of pixels on a D3s, I have always been hesitant to crop its files too much. I am not sure the IQ could hold up to such a large crop in this image, other than for posting online.
I have always kept this comp. a little loose because I kind of like the way the vegetation frames the bird (what I really wish is that I had allowed a little more room below). You’ve all given me some ideas for a direction. Thank you for the feedback, especially you, @Sandy_Richards-Brown for taking the time to work on the image!
