Hi Everyone,
I’ve been an NPN member for a long time, but I don’t think I have posted on the new site yet. I thought I would re-introduce myself by sharing an image or two relevant to each critique forum.
For the most part, my bird photography days are behind me. When I’m lucky now, I get something, but when I went out looking in the past, I didn’t have the patience.
I am a big fan (though not major contributor) to this area. Here is one of my better ones, a snowy owl from southwest Washington, taken about 4 years ago.
#What technical feedback would you like if any?
I would love suggestions for cropping more effectively. I have others of this and another snowy owl from this same outing, but the sky is pretty dull (in all of them)
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any pertinent technical details:
Canon 7D with 100-400mm L (gen1). Processed in LR with some Nik noise reduction which used to be part of my workflow before I got the 5d3.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
Nice catch of this Snowy with a natural perch and squarely facing us. As for cropping, I’d add some space on top to balance out the image. You may also want to consider cropping in slightly from the left and adding a tad on the right as the bird is leaning in that direction.
Thanks for posting this again, Marylynne. A beautiful image. I love the sand and sky background. It brings back great memories of that last irruption.
Thanks, Dennis and Allen. I have a good bit more space around the bird in the original. I’m posting it here for perspective. I try to limit the amount of color gradation at the top (where a distant land mass transitions to sky) as I find that strip distracting.
I’m of two minds on the side to side: more space on the right because that’s the direction the sweep of the bird’s body is leaning, or less on the right, because the owl’s body could be a kind of golden spiral looking back toward the left.
Feel free to play with crops and let me know what y’all think.
Beautiful look at the owl. I prefer the top one. I could see a bit more blue at the top, but I like the layered background on the first view, without the white top layer that is present on the bottom view. I prefer the original crop as I get a slight sense the owl is looking to its right more than the left.
Hi Marylynne: I played with your original image after you posted it asking about the crop. On the image you first posted, I liked the blue all the way up, but it seemed a bit tight on the top. I cropped it a bit more loosely at a 5x4 aspect ratio and used the golden rectangle grid with the beak on the right vertical of the grid (see second image). I picked up just a touch of the out of focus foreground log in the lower left, so I cloned over it. Then I just picked up the blue with the color picker and painted over the light area at the top. I may have gone too far up there-you’re the photographer. I did select and copy the owl to another layer so I could paint the background without worrying about neatness.
Thanks, Dennis. I really appreciate the demonstration of both the positioning of the beak on that axis and the fill-in by color picker at the top. I always forget that I can paint in a color like that. I am taking both of your suggestions and applying them to my own copy. Muchas gracias!
ML
A beautiful Snowy Owl, Marylynne! I personally, much prefer your original (the second image). The first image feels too crowded and I like the extra environment in the original. I also prefer the light layer on the top. I think it balances the scene better and the owl’s head is in the blue band so it’s not compromised by the color change. To me, the original has a lighter, more natural feel. I wouldn’t change the placement of the owl either. I think you got it right the first time!
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Hello, Marylynne - what a lovely shot. I love the colours and overall setting, and of course am slightly envious as we don’t have that species overhere 
! Cheers, Hans
Hi Hans,
Thank you for the compliment. I felt (and still feel) very fortunate to have had this experience. Snowy owls are not super common in the lower Pacific Northwest, but we have irruptions along the Washington Coast (where this was taken) as well as near Burns/Malheur in Easter Oregon periodically.
On this particular weekend, we heard that the owls were plentiful along Oceans Shores beach in Washington State, and we booked a hotel and made the trip. I’m not a big fan of “hardship narratives” that make an image seem more impressive because of the struggle to get it, but this one, lack of personal danger aside and a bit of generational celebrity news marking the date, does lend itself to extolling the virtues of patience and persistence.
The first evening was horrible: snowy owls everywhere, but sideways rain and 38 degrees Fahrenheit. I couldn’t get very close, couldn’t keep tripod steady or lens dry, and most of the owls had their heads tucked in for warmth. I gave up, went back to the hotel for the night. It was the night Whitney Houston died (coincidentally 7 years ago tomorrow). The news that evening and the next morning had us glued to the tv, but a little sun break shortly after dawn sent me back down the beach a couple of miles to the prime spot. There were a few photographers, but not many, and I was able to wander, sit, look at the owls and close my eyes, look away and become part of the place, basically act like an owl looking for my own personal favorite log. The owls were aware, but not agitated by my presence. I am sharing a couple more from that morning for your pleasure. I like these two also, but not quite as much as the one with the lovely blue background.
Same owl, I think, and I love how its body merges with the log. I think this is why they like this beach. It’s a 2 mile walk to get to the spot, and these logs are everywhere:
Different Owl:
Wow, that sounds like on great experience… I’ve still on my mind that should another irruption I should hop on a plane and fly over. Actually, I have been discussing this plan with a fellow-photographer last week when I met him 
! You made the best of it, leaving you with some amazing images ! Cheers, Hans
