The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
A favourite subject of mine, I took this shot late yesterday afternoon as the sun was just about to disappear below the horizon. It’s strong, low light from the right hand side.
I took a new approach to my processing by applying the Adobe neutral profile to the RAW as a first step, this flattened the image and gave me a kind of blank canvas to work from.
This is the result of my efforts, I am pleased with the overall look of the shot but I am unsure about a few things:
Specific Feedback
1 The focus on the owls head/body - I have used some light Topaz Sharpen, but I don’t know if it’s too much
2 The overall colour balance - the original looked a bit too warm for my liking
3 The contrast - does it need increasing for a bit more punch?
4 The composition. The background offers 3 distinct bands, maybe they work, I’m not sure.
Your comments and suggestions would be appreciated.
Technical Details
OM System OM-1 Mk1
Panasonic\Leica 100-400 @ 300mm
1/000 f5.7 ISO 1600
Critique Template
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Hi Ryan
I think you have color balance and contrast right. The Owl is little soft, but I wouldn’t worry about that. The only thing I would look at is moving the Owl off center, placing in the left 1/3 of the frame. Some day I hope to photograph more Owls.
Peter
Hi Ryan. First, I’m really, really jealous. Your barn owls seem to start hunting slightly earlier than ours, which always want to wait for full dark, making this kind of shot impossible.
I think your three banded composition works well, though I might take some off the left to decenter the owl a bit more. The sharpening on the owl looks pretty good. They’re always a bit soft looking and need to stay that way in my opinion. To me, the contrast reflects the time of day nicely and I wouldn’t jack it up any more than it is. Warmth is always a tough one. A number of years ago, I photographed a hawk in what seemed to be gorgeous warm evening light, but I was never able to tame it in post processing and the bird just looked too gaudy. This looks good to me, though if I processed it, I suspect it would end up just a trifle warmer.
One nit: There are a few pieces of vegetation in the foreground that caught the late evening light and are a bit of a distraction. I think I’d clean those up if removing things like that is part of your process.
A lovely owl shot, Ryan, and I share Dennis’s jealousy! The rim lighting is gorgeous, and the wings are pretty sharp - was it hovering? The slight softness suggests the evening mood, and owls like this with fluff over the beak seem to create their own bit of softness. I agree that placing it more left would improve the composition, making it look more poised to strike that mouse.
Thanks for the helpful comments everyone, they are much appreciated. I’m with you on the need to move it slightly left. The right hand side is on the edge of the frame so to preserve the overall sizing I guess I could try the AI generated background fill in PS.
Thanks again.
Overall, really nice capture-also, envious. Good light, especially on the owl and I like the hovering/hunting pose of the owl. The layering of the foreground, mid ground, and back ground, coupled with the sharpness of the owl gives this image a strong 3-D effect.
