Juvenile Great Horned Owl in habitat

[arash_hazeghi]

This is an image of a juvenile Great Horned Owl. I found this handsome owl in a local park and he is extremely skittish. I had to slide on my butt down a steep hill to keep low and get this shot, my pants were ripped as a result :bg3:

I wish the environment was cleaner but I like the eye contact and the curious look of this juvi so deiced to share this image. This is where he hides between dense branches and leaves. There wasn't much light so had to use very slow shutter speed, fortunately with the 400DO II it is possible to get sharp shots at such slow shutter speeds and when shooting in an uncomfortable position!

1DX II 400 DO II + 2X III. ISO 4000. f/8 at 1/250sec. hand held. processed with DPP 4.4 hope you like it

164171

[Arthur Morris]

Great job with the SH and EXP. The bird is pretty cool. The big problem is the vertical branch...Without that, it would be a pretty neat setting.

a

[arash_hazeghi]

Thanks Artie, best to hear from a fresh pair of eyes!

I'll try to see if I can get rid of it

[Bill Dix]

Pretty amazing work at those settings (but then, the rig is in the hands of a master). Love the stare, and the environment doesn't bother me. Even the vertical branch helps to frame the bird, although if I saw a version without it I might like it better. Either way, worth a few bucks to your tailor.

[Tim Foltz]

Arash, Great image, my one little nit is that it's on the cool side, I hope you don't mind but I warmed it up it bit. What do you think.

Regards -Tim

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Tim,

thanks for increasing the color temperature but in this case I think the original colors more accurately depict the original scene and the owl's plumage (which is grey-ish in real life)

best

[arash_hazeghi]

And re. Artie's suggestion I removed the branch

164174

[Arthur Morris]

Lots of well done work. Much better from where I sit. Be right back...

a

[Arthur Morris]

Did not like the stub.... Fixed it with a warped Quick Mask.

a

[Lorant Voros]

Looks like the PP masters are having fun with this subject:). Nice eye contact indeed and well done again on the high ISO work and the exposure. TFS.

[Glennie Passier]

I love the progress of this frame. I think Artie's branch removal is spot on. I don't mind the BG at all. Love the stare...and look at those talons. It may be my monitor, but is there a purplish cast on the bird?

Great stuff Arash.

[arash_hazeghi]

I love the progress of this frame. I think Artie's branch removal is spot on. I don't mind the BG at all. Love the stare...and look at those talons. It may be my monitor, but is there a purplish cast on the bird?

Great stuff Arash.

Hi Glennie, thanks for the comments.

There is no "purplish" cast on my screen. The colors are dead accurate on my screen (NEC 4K wide gamut pro display). The image is a bit cool but that's how the scene was (photo was taken in the shade with sun behind the hills already) but it's very close to what you would have seen there in person. The GHO's are more active after sunset so the low light feel goes with that behavior.

BTW, I think you need a better monitor that is suited for image processing/viewing given some your previous comments on other images. Folks overlook this but a proper monitor is just as important as the camera and the lens, processing and viewing images on a monitor not made for color critical work can ruin years and years of hard work by producing inconsistent results and cause much frustration later. It's just like having a lens that's soft. Definitely consider investing in a better one if you can.

best

[arash_hazeghi]

Did not like the stub.... Fixed it with a warped Quick Mask.

a

looks better w/o the stub for sure

[Bill Dix]

Went from good to better to best. Like Artie's repost.