Victoria

[gail bisson]

Canon 1DX
F 600mm
ISO 400
SS 1/200
f 7.1
I did a 3 day workshop with Kevin Pepper and Len Silvester near Barrie, Ontario.
We only had one sunny afternoon in 3 days and this is one of my favs. The owls are baited. We had names for the various owls and we called this one Victoria.( She was very regal so named after Queen Victoria!)
I like the the blurry barns in the lower BG that give the viewer the feel of this rural area dotted with farms.
Cropped by 50%
PP:Crop,NR to BG, levels, dodged the eye that was in shadow, DE at 5% and USM to JPEG
Comments and critiques always learned from and appreciated with thanks,
Gail

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, lovely soft light and very well exposed. You have captured a really good banking angle showing off the full wingspread, and fanned tail. Love the curled primaries of the near wing, and Im glad you left the OOF barns in the lower part of the frame. The head turn and eye contact takes this over the top. Well captured.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gail - nicely done. The head turn, wing position, light and sharpness all combine for a beautiful image. I also like the oof barns.

TFS,
Rachel

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Hi Gail, wweet pose with the head turn and the top side view and the fanned tail. Very well exposed. The oof barns/trees add color. Wish light was even on both sides of the face, but that's a minor nit. A very successful image overall.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Awsome Gail. Love the wing position and head turn. Congrats on coming home with some nice images.

[Marina Scarr]

What a great experience this must have been for you, Gail. Super flight pose and love the look back. You did well lifting the exposure on the eye. Had you not told me those were farm houses in the BG, I would never have known.

[Doug Brown]

Great look-back pose! I also like the sliver of snowy BG at the bottom of the frame. Owls in sunlight are always a challenge; the pupils can be different in size, and it seems like one side of the face is usually somewhat darker than the other. But you made the most of this opportunity!

[Holger Leyrer]

I love the full wingspread and headpose. I like that the background is not just blue. The habitat on the bottom works very good. Wonderful image.

[dankearl]

The amount of great Snowy flight poses here has been remarkable and this joins the list.
The pose is good and I like the BG.
Very nice, Gail!

[keith mitchell]

Gail you have caught some real movement ,excellent shot.

Keith.:S3:

[David Salem]

Very nice Gail! Im dying to go see some snowies while they are on such an upswing and I would be tickled to have gotten a shot this good. What a pretty owl Victoria is with her heavy markings. Great pose capture. Was this HH or on a pod?

[Sandy Witvoet]

BOOSH!!!!! I could repeat all the FAB C/C above, but it would take up WAY too much space. Incredible, Gail!

[gail bisson]

Thank you all for the comments.
David- I was on a tripod.
Gail

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Gail...all has already been said...beautiful work!!! :S3: I am just a hop, skip, and a jump from Barrie.

[Diane Miller]

Just wonderful! Fantastic detail and exposure and great BG!

[christopher galeski]

very nice banking pose,and the eye contact magic,nice detail and BG.

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent detail and flying pose, nice head turn and eye contact.

[Steve Large]

Hi Gail,
Wonderful capture! Looks better than a magazine shot. The lighting is awsome. I am curious about your shutter speed however. Is that a typo? Should it be 1/2000.

Steve

[gail bisson]

Hi Gail,
Wonderful capture! Looks better than a magazine shot. The lighting is awsome. I am curious about your shutter speed however. Is that a typo? Should it be 1/2000.

Steve
Yes Steve, that is a typo and it should read 1/2000. Good catch!

[David N Smith]

Excellent image Gail. Are you trying to out do Daniel in the Snowy Owl images?

David

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the wing position, banking pose, eye contact, sharpness, details and composition. Excellent image Gail!