Gray on White

[Doug Brown]

We were fortunate during my Ottawa visit to have a bit of overcast, a bit of sun, and a little snow. Here's a Great Gray Owl in the sweet light of the morning. Daniel and I had the owls to ourselves for a good hour in the morning; I wonder if the wind chill of -41 degrees Fahrenheit had anything to do with the low photographer attendance!

Canon 1Dx, 500mm II, f/5, 1/1000, ISO 1600, manual exposure, hand held, baited

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Doug,

I'm not sure what to say, this is a stunner. I think what really draws me in is the contrast between the warm light on the owl and the cool blues of the snow.

-41 F? Nuts!

Miguel

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Killer stuff, Doug. The light is fantastic. Comp, pose, stare all superb. You nailed it.

[David Salem]

Great shot Doug. The difference between the overcast shots, which are still great, and the few Ive seen in the sun is marked. This is one of the best of your series IMO. The incoming pose with just enough wing position to see the pattern and the bent primaries is very nice. The owl stands out well in the cool blue snow. Techs look great and the eyes are riveting and tack sharp. Well done especially while in way below freezing conditions.

[Jim Neiger]

Great image in great light. -41 is insane!!!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Doug, tack, tack sharp, and love the head on eye contact in this. The GGO really pops from the BG, and you pretty much nailed the overall exposure.

This seems like you captured this at high altitude, with the snow /ice below resembling tops of snow covered mountain ranges.

No wonder it was -41 deg F. :w3

[David N Smith]

Great job Doug. I really like the angle that the GGO is coming in at you. It looks almost like it was attacking you. You got some really neat shots of the GGO on your trip.

David

[Kiran Poonacha]

This works well for me Doug Bhai.. I loved the snow pattern as it adds to the frame. -41 is cold.

Regards,

Kiran.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Outstanding Image in every respect! Love it!

[Marina Scarr]

I wonder if the wind chill of -41 degrees Fahrenheit had anything to do with the low photographer attendance!

Might you be referring to your fellow traveler? Guilty as charged for opting to remain in my cozy room rather than withstand wind chills of -41. This Florida girl is unashamed to admit her shortcomings. What I want to know is how were you able to focus on this beauty through the icicles which formed on your eyelashes?

I feel the frigid temperatures when I view this image, Doug, and really like the blues in the snow. Love the little mountains of snow in the FG. The wingtips are special here. I am seeing a slight magenta cast in the underwings.

[Doug Brown]

Might you be referring to your fellow traveler? Guilty as charged for opting to remain in my cozy room rather than withstand wind chills of -41. This Florida girl is unashamed to admit her shortcomings. What I want to know is how were you able to focus on this beauty through the icicles which formed on your eyelashes?

I feel the frigid temperatures when I view this image, Doug, and really like the blues in the snow. Love the little mountains of snow in the FG. The wingtips are special here. I am seeing a slight magenta cast in the underwings.

I wasn't referring to you in particular Marina. You were a real trooper on the trip, which was very physically demanding. I was talking about our Canadian friends, who are accustomed to really cold temperatures. I'm not sure I see a cast; the light was fairly orange and the color may be especially noticeable against the blue of the snow. I'll try pulling down the magenta when I get home this afternoon.

[Raymond Lee]

Sweet light Doug! Great incoming shot!

[Ivan Ellison]

Another cracker, love the head on aspect, the relected light off the snow really lifts it. You must be having a great time over there at the moment.

[Bill Dix]

Another stunner. It really does look like he's flying over the Himalayas. Love the uplight on the underwings, and the great stare. I'm surprised you weren't shooting with a higher SS, but I guess you were balancing that against the ISO. You guys must have come home with lots and lots of keepers.

[dankearl]

It like you took it in the Arctic!
The blue snow effect is very nice, gives this one a different feel from the others.

[Nick Palmieri]

Those eyes and that flight pose is incredible. Nice job!

[Karl Egressy]

Great incoming pose, eye contact and excellent light. The crusty snow surface and the light reminds me that of Calgary Alberta, where this kind of temperature was very regular in the eighties.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent pose and the snow really adds to this frame. superb techs. I would just remove the catchlight, it's too tiny for small web post.

[Brendon Cremer]

Stunning image, not much more to say, other than well done

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

This is soo cool. I almost feel it was shot out the window of a high flying airplane with the cloud looking snow moguls. I can't even imagine my poor nose surviving this cold day let alone the brain freeze! You did so well. This image was worth it

[Doug Brown]

Thank you all for the comments!