Burrowing Owl in Profile

[Loi Nguyen]

I spent last weekend at Salton Sea looking for Burrowing Owls again. We saw half dozen pairs with nest and a few singles but no chicks. it seems to me tha the population of Burrowing owls at this location has dropped significantly from last year, perhaps due to the severe drought we have here in Southern California. I love getting up at 4AM and be at the location by 5AM before sunrise at 5:30AM. I threw a quick camo over the car window and waited for the owl to show up on his favorite perch. Before sunrise when it was still quite a bit drak, he hopped onto the perch and began bellowing out his coo-cooo calls. I was a bit surprised since this owl had a mate in January and from what I learned, it appears that he was making this call to attract a mate. So, perhaps he had lost his mate.

I waited until the sun just began to rise and for a brief seconds the red glow of the rising sun bathed him. Last time I took the shot at 1000mm and ISO-3200. This time I waited a fraction later to take the image at 700mm and ISO-1600 for improved IQ. The camo really helped relaxing the owl. I was hoping for a flight shot later, but he didn't hunt and later jumped off while I was looking at the exposure.

1DX
500f4 II + 1.4X III @ 700mm
1/320
F8
ISO-1600
BLUBB Bean bag over car window.
Cropped slightly top, right, and a tiny sliver from left.
Burn the whites on the perch, but decided not to clone it.

There are other images with him looking straight at me, but i chose this one due to the special light and the profile gives sharp focus all around.

Appreciate your comments.

Thank you

Loi
Thank you

Loi

[christopher galeski]

nice capture,like the one leg up pose,beautiful light,and a magic eye.

[gail bisson]

I think this is a very nice image.
A couple of tweaks would elevate this to the next level. I would move the owl(slightly) to the left of the frame and I would add a couple of points of blacks to the neutrals in selective coloring to give the image a bit of pop without losing the soft light feel.
Love the light and the raised foot.
Your good field craft paid off well!
gail

[vishaljadhav]

Lovely image
i like the pose captured with the riased foot
The IQ looks good and yes the few points of black will add more pop to the image for sure
good work

[David Salem]

Nice crack of dawn shot Loi. I like the pose and the perch he chose. The early morning light has made a nice cast to this shot. I agree about a few points of black to add a little punch. Nice work getting out there.

[Joe Subolefsky]

Love the light and eye detail along with the DOF. Just wish there was a little more open space to the right. Really nice.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image. Beautiful lights. Very nice pose with raised foot, lovely colors, nice perch and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Diane Miller]

What wonderful detail and great light! Looks like some air pollution or dust softened it beautifully.

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi everyone, thank you for your suggestions. Here is a RP with a couple of black points added in Selective Color. I also brightened the eye a tiny bit. Hope you like it better. Loi

[Binu John]

Beautiful light and pose, Loi! The RP looks much better! TFS

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Loi nice soft light and pose of the owl on a nice perch.Comp works good , too.
Same as the lion i do find it can stand a tad more tonal depth and sharpening.

Here is a quick RP , WDYT ?
TFS Andreas

[Andreas Liedmann]

Sorry Loi - color shift - no profile assigned in RP , hope this is better.
No better , i have an issue going on , just look at it without the additional color, ok

Andreas