Northern Hawk Owl

[Shawn Zierman]

This northern hawk owl was photographed this past Friday in the Sax Zim Bog of Northern Minnesota. Live mice were fed to the owl as part of the photography process. The perch is naturally occuring. Canon7d, Sigma50/500os, iso800, f9, 1/160, tiny crop, adjusted blacks and contrast, USM. Comments and critiques welcome.
Regards,
Shawn Zierman.

[Don Railton]

Hi Shawn..

Love the stare, bird & comp looks good (maybe a little off the bottom) but the BG is toooo bright IMHO..

Don

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like the shot very much, the pose and sharpness are very good indeed. I am a little uneasy about the processing - was it a very cold but bright day? I haven't seen one of these birds so maybe I am off completely off beat but is the contrast perhaps a little high??

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the pose, eye contact, sharpness, composition and perch. Pine cones on the perch add interest. Very well done Shawn!

[Daniel Cadieux]

The hawk-owl's colour and contrast is what I expect from one. Good erect and alert pose. Nifty scraggly perch this fella chose, I like it! The light bouncing off the snow filled in the underside shadows very nicely. I'd perhaps tone down (but not fully eliminate) the dark vertical BG line at left though...it pulls my eye there.

[John Robinson]

Incredible stare on this one. I too have not seen one but looks OK.Nice framing too.
JohR

[Holger Leyrer]

I like the colour and contrast in the image. Eye contact is great. The BG works very well.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Killer eye contact with this stunning bird. Excellent perch and details. Love the wintery setting. I would eliminate the vertical oof trunk in the bg. Wonder what this would look like with the bird further to the left in the frame - given the head on stare, central placement might just work. Nice work Shawn. Gotta make it to Sax Zim some day.

[David Salem]

I would love to see and photograph one of these beautiful owls some day. Great job capturing this one. I like the pose and the eyes are well lit really bugged out.
It looks like it is really looking at you hard. The perch looks cool with the cones around the owl. I too think removing the vertical tree would look better as my eye gravitates to it.
Well done Shawn.

[Shawn Zierman]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I composed the image with intent of having the distant tamarack trunk be prominent in the vertical presentation. Never the less, here is one repost with the trunk's contrast toned down significantly and a selective NR on the bg to further lessen the impact of the background elements. The change is subtle...is it enough? In regards to light quality, it was a bright(ish) overcast day, lots of snow fill light, as the area is fairly open and snow covered. There was very little directional light. If the sun had been out, it would have been well off to the right of the bird.

[Enrique Patino]

good going Shawn.

[Jim Crosswell]

Great repost Shawn. The tamarack is still an element in the image but now blends into the BG more. Would love to see this majestic looking owl one day.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Shawn, how is that stare/ eye contact. Love the wintery colours in this, and both overall exposure and sharpness spot on. Great repost.