Barred Owl

[Ashleigh Scully]

Hi -

This is from a workshop I did with my friend Jim Neiger near Lake Toho. I went out with Mr. Neiger for two days last year and I learned so much. He is really patient and nice to me and has helped me a lot with my flight shots and exposure. I wish I was still photographing with him!!!

Canon EOS 5D MIII
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM + 1.4xTC

Handheld (heavy for me!!)

ISO 1000
420mm
f/5.6
1/1600

We called this owl out of some trees and it flew back and forth for awhile. Luckily it landed on this perfect perch while the sun was setting. I also got other perched shots and some flight and landing shots which I'll post another day.

I cropped about 30% off which was some oof parts of the perch to the left. I did a minor USM to the owl only and did nothing else. I also did a minor shadow adjustment to the owl's left eye. I am interested in your thoughts on whether I should do anything else. I saved this at 87% in PS to keep the size down. It looks awesome really big.

Thanks a lot and thanks again to Mr. Neiger!

[Gabriela Plesea]

What a beauty, Ashleigh! I now refer to the image, as well as your subject!

Congratulations! I think your crop is great, if this was mine I might have taken off a tad from the left, but no deal breaker. That mottled BG is stunning. Your photography is impressive, so is your processing and presentation of your images, I would love to photograph with you and learn some of your tricks:S3::w3

Warmest regards,

[gail bisson]

This is really nice Ashleigh!
I really like the BG but would take a bit off the LHS to the first dangling tendril at the top of the frame. This would give you a square crop but I think it would work nicely.
You have a very nice pose and I might sharpen the owl a little bit more. Your low aperture has helped the BG but in hindsight I think an aperture of 7.1 would have been optimal and bumping up the ISO to 1600.
I am sure it looks awesome really big!
I am sure Jim will appreciate seeing this. Well done,
Gail

[Bill Dix]

What a terrific shot, Ashleigh, and a great opportunity to go out with Jim. I hope to do the same some day. The crop works nicely for me. Were it mine I might be tempted to experiment with a very modest use of the S/H tool on bird and perch, to tone down the brightest part of the perch, and open up the bird's left eye just a bit more. But that tool can sometimes do more harm than good, so experiment on a layer and be prepared to go back to your OP, which is just lovely as is.

[Holger Leyrer]

Wonderful image, Ashleigh. I love the stare and the pose. The perch to. I wish me a little bit more sharpness in the face.

[William Dickson]

Fantastic image Ashleigh, the owl is wonderful and the perch looks it was meant for this owl, they compliment each other perfectly. Well done

[Ashleigh Scully]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I will try to do a repost tomorrow. The ISO was at 1600 but I lowered it quickly as the sun keep poking through the branches in the trees behind me. It would be sunny and then pretty dark quickly. I still need to trust that the 5D can do it that high.

[Troy Lim]

Beautiful posing shot, love the light and the perch.

[Randall Farhy]

Ashleigh this is an awesome shot. I love the stare and forward stance on the perch. Along with other suggestions, I'd try to brighten the eyes a touch, especially the right side as it appears a little dark. Again, this is a beautiful scene.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Ashleigh, nice image. The perch and the owl stare are awesome. Great capture. If you ever get over by Lake Tohopekaliga again during eagle nesting season in Florida there is an eagles nest close to the road along the Kings Highway just outside of Kissimmee.

[Ashleigh Scully]

Hi Ashleigh, nice image. The perch and the owl stare are awesome. Great capture. If you ever get over by Lake Tohopekaliga again during eagle nesting season in Florida there is an eagles nest close to the road along the Kings Highway just outside of Kissimmee. Hi, thank you for the tip. I did photograph that nest last year. This year I found a different nest near there and I'll post a picture of that one soon. Bye!