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Questions to guide your feedback
Do you like the busy surroundings?
Other Information
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Image Description
An old stump deep in the forest…what a perfect place for this Great Gray Owl to nest. Photographed last month in eastern Finland.
Technical Details
Sony a1, Sony 200-600 at 400mm, manual exposure 1/500th, f/5.6, ISO 1000
Specific Feedback
I chose to post this photo that includes the environment in which the owl has nested, including the water in the background on the right. If I wanted to present a bird portrait, I would have selected another image that I shot at 600mm and cropped more. But I Iike the way this image tells the real story of this nesting owl.
It’s a nice environmental shot. The only part of the busy surroundings I don’t like is the branch coming down from the upper left in front of the tree. I would probably tone down the bright part of the tree underneath the bird. Nice that there was some light on the owl.
I agree with your choice to include the environment, which for me is a pleasing forest scene. Nice look at the nesting owl. I would agree with @Terri_Barnett about the branch-from what I understand, probably an easy fix with the new tools in PS.
Hi Charles, nice environmental image and I love seeing the face of the owl in the top of the broken off tree. I’m fine with the crop and composition. Agree with toning down the brightness of the broken tree trunk below the owl. Nice image.
Hi Charles
Yes I like the natural clutter of this photograph. I think you could look at toning down the bright spot on the tree, just below the Owl.
Peter
I like the position of the owl as I have a fondness for half hidden subjects. I’m going to differ on the composition as I find all the blues on the right side of the image a bit distracting and I think a vertical composition accenting the vertical nature of the broken stump and the bird as an exclamation point would make for a more appealing image for my personal taste.
Hi Charles, lovely capture of an owl in it’s environment. Forests are messy and that’s what makes nature photography a challenge. My main concern is the tree trunk drawing one’s eye to it and away from the subject. If you tone it down a little the owl will become prominent. The trick is not to go too far so that the light isn’t believable anymore. Like I said a lovely capture.
Lovely find!! The busy environment tells a story about the camouflage that enables the owl to survive. The branch coming from the left could be a tricky fix, leaving the foliage with no support, but it might not be obvious where the support was. The one horizontal blue area on the right bothers me – that’s a very easy fix to brush over it in Quick Mask mode with a soft brush and convert the selection to a Hue-Sat layer and lower and darken the blues. Good calls above on the brightness of the trunk – just down a little. You don’t want the owl to be too obvious.
I’ve always been a big fan of owls no matter the size, color, species, etc.!
I especially like seeing owls in their nests like this and the cleanup work on the distractions was very well done, it transformed this into a work of art IMHO.
That dappled light is just great!
Thank you for sharing some of the awesome sights you encountered during your trip to Finland!
