Barred Owl, looking around on his woodsy perch

[Jack Breakfast]

Hello!
This is a rather unremarkable picture of a Barred Owl but I am pleased by the light and the background and owl's pose. I was delighted to happen upon this noble beast, and I stood in front of him alone for several moments, then left. I talked to him a fair bit while I took pictures. I'll admit to you that I did ask him (or her?) if he might like to come down to a lower perch, which would suit my needs better, but of course if I were him I too would have preferred a high post so as to survey my domain. Afterwards I wondered whether other photographers, when they're alone with an owl, talk to the bird or remain silent? I cannot presume to know, but if you'd like to talk about your habits and ways, I'd be glad to hear about it. This picture was taken with the Canon 7D and 70-300L at 300mm, iso640, 1/500, f5.6. This is 70% of the full-frame picture; I cropped a slab off the top for compositional and aesthetic purposes. I'll mention also that I moved around a little bit, trying to find the spot that had the least amount of intersecting branches. No easy task, especially since I didn't want to annoy that magical monster! Certainly I am distracted by the intersectors here, but this was the best spot available. I'll be eager to hear your comments and suggestions. As always, I thank you for your consideration...
121890


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[Miguel Palaviccini]

Hey Jack, it's a barred out in its natural habitat - which just happens to be of the "cluttered" variety. I know that we all strive for clean bg, but sometimes that would also mean an unprobable bg. In this case, I do wish that the bg was cleaner, but I would take this shot any day! I think the pose and stare is great, and bc of it, I would consider taking some off the left side and adding a bit to the right (if you have it).

[Jack Breakfast]

Thanks Miguel, you're right to point out the compositional situation...a split-second before the owl was looking the other way...he was sticking his head out and bobbing it around, getting into his pre-dive routine. I was thinking the whole time: "you should be taking a video of this. This will never come across in still pictures..."

[Jack Breakfast]

I had a slight bit of room available on the right and re-cropped the picture, keeping the 2x3 ratio and as we see it now we are down to 61% of the full-frame image. Less than ideal, absolutely, but I do prefer this tighter crop. I would be glad to hear your opinions?
121902

[dankearl]

The tighter crop looks better.
Just some more NR on the BG would look nice.
Beautiful Owl!

[Jim Crosswell]

Tighter crop looks way better to me. Sounds like you had a great experience. Well done Jack!

[Jack Breakfast]

Thanks folks, I too am much happier with the tighter crop! I feel the IQ is quite good for 61% of full-frame...shooting this picture at 400mm would have taken care of that, more or less...ah well...