Road Kill

My wife spotted this Barred Owl beside the road and brought it home for burial. I took some images of it and this one seemed to be one of the more effective ones to me.

Type of Critique Requested

  • Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.

Specific Feedback and Self-Critique

I think I should have composed the original with a bit more room on the right because I was forced to crop a touch more off the left than I liked to get this composition. To me the closed eye and slight tinge of red near the beak tell an effective story and evoke a mood of sadness and sorrow.

Technical Details

Sony A7Riv, Tamron 28-200 @ 188 mm, hand held, f/8, 1/1000, iso 2000, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped to 5040x7056. Slight enhancement of feather texture and a few local adjustments to brightness, saturation and white balance.

Sadness and sorrow definitely. More room on the right? I like it as is. The additional room leads me to believe its wing is extended adding more to the mood. Very moving photo for me.