Burrowing Owlet (again) at sunrise

[Melissa Usrey]

169041

I had to do a lot to remove noise so I know this could be sharper, but I'm hoping his cute personality makes up for the softness!
f/8, ISO 3200, 560mm, 1/400 sec.

[Jay Ing]

Looks very nice to me! I'd put my sig on the bottom right but I love the pose and the big ol' eyes. Happy shooting!

[Michael Thompson]

Cool! I love how big their pupils get before sunrise! I was just doing some this week and got the same look. It is tough in the low light, any movement in the subject or camera is going to cause blur. I just shoot a lot of frames and hope a few turn out. Still it looks good enough for a small print, if you really like the image. The noise is probably due to high iso. what camera do you use? typically, only pro level full frame bodies get good image quality with such high sensitivity settings.

[Melissa Usrey]

Thank you Michael! I use a Canon 1DX which can handle higher ISOs. I also love their huge pupils and how they mirror the light. You can almost use their eyes as a guide to the time of day. I'm going out again tomorrow before sunrise and hope to get something! The Owlets aren't out yet - won't be until June, but the parents are along with one Owlet from last season.

[Melissa Usrey]

Thank you so much Jay! I never thought about the watermark - it just does it automatically when I export. I can change its position, however!