Northern Hawk Owl at Sax-Zim Bog

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
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Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

I just got back from my first trip to Sax-Zim Bog in Minnesota. Coldest I’ve ever been in my life. We didn’t find any great grey owls, but were lucky enough to see this hawk owl - a life list bird for sure.

Specific Feedback

All my shots of this guy (girl?) are perched and noisy and very far away, so I didn’t crop too much. It was an overcast afternoon and just beginning to get dark.

Technical Details

Fuji X-T5, 1/800s, f/5.6, ISO 640, 400mm, processed in Lightroom with Denoise and sharpened with Topaz Sharpen.

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Congrats on the lifer. As a birder, I would have liked a closer look at the bird. The image, however, does convey a mood of bleakness and cold.

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Certainly does convey cold with all those fluffy feathers. While it isn’t a great portrait, I’m sure it will go in the series of images you got from your trip. Even though it’s only about 5 hours from me, I’ve never been to Saz-Zim. Going to have to remedy that. Hopefully when it’s a little warmer.

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@Allen_Brooks I would have loved to get closer too…

@Kris_Smith I got a few others of him/her, but this is one of the better ones with the fluffing-up.

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Congratulations, Debbie. Some images we take as photographers are mostly memory shots and that’s just fine. You did an excellent job under difficult conditions. We’ve been cold enough here, I can’t imagine Minnesota right now.

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Comp is fine as presented and is a good birding shot for memories. You might be able to bring up the shadows a bit so that the eye’s become more apparent. Well done and congrats, hawk owls are a challenging bird to see…Jim

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@Dennis_Plank Thank you! It was -5 when we stopped to get this shot.

@jim Thank you so much! This shot was very very dark, I pulled up the exposure and shadows quite a bit but didn’t want to overdo it. Should I post the original as well for comparison?

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Hi Debbie, Congrats on being able to photograph this lifer! I think the composition works well for a rather small in the frame shot. Experiences like this make me want to get back in the field - maybe next time I can get closer. Really interesting bird - one I have never seen - thanks for sharing!

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@Allen_Sparks Thank you! It was exciting, my first and I never expected to see one.

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A fine shot for the circumstances! You have a good balance of artistry to offset the technical difficulties. Congratulations on the lifer! I never even heard of a Hawk Owl.

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@Diane_Miller Thank you! He/she was a beautiful owl, I wish I’d had the 150-600mm lens.

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Super congratulations on your lifer Debbie. You will always have this image as a reference to the day that you nearly froze to death BUT…you got a lifer out of it. Those memories will last forever. How big are these guys?

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@David_Haynes Thanks David! These owls are about crow-sized. This is an article I found about a research project in the bog; there’s not a lot of data about them.

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Debbie, congrats on this image and the memories no matter how cold. Great environmental portrait.

PS: I used to have the Fuji 100-400. Great lens, but I sold it when I picked up the 150-600, it’s an awesome lens.

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@David_Bostock I’m thinking about that lens, but I just upgraded from an X-T3 to an X-T5… it’s on my radar though. I’m having a lot of soft shots and I don’t know if it’s a lens issue (it was dropped on Lake Jackson Dam in June) or just that I’m trying to shoot more low-light high-speed subjects).