Burrowing Owlet at sunset

[Melissa Usrey]

169193

It was 115 degrees and this little Owlet was attempting to cool off, better than I did!

1DX
338mm
f/7.1
ISO 800
1/1200

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Melissa,
Wow what a pose! The head on look and spread wings are terrific. I like the setting with the grass and then blurred background. Well done.
Allen

[Loi Nguyen]

What an unusual pose! So, the owlet spread out its wings and tail to cool off, what"s about the photographer? Love the pose and the comp. did you do something to the eyes? Just look a bit strange to me. The grass added much to the interest and the colors look good. How much crop was it? Image feels a bit tight to me.


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[Steve Kaluski]

Nice low perspective and behavioural aspect here Melissa. The choice of crop works and for me, the viewer cannot help but be drawn into the image by the eyes.

Personally I find the overall colour swamping the whole image reducing any key detail & texture. There are some 'Dust bunnies' in the top section of the background and there appears to be some cloning on the RHS where colour looks blown in over the grass????

Melissa you were there not me and so you have a better sense on colour, but if you have time I would revisit the image and try to balance out the colour, but still hopefully retaining the 'sunset' look & feel. I have added this in only to illustrate what I mean about getting back more colour & detail so you have a 'layering' effect too to provide depth to the image, however limited to the OP it's hard to bring in more of that 'warm' light without effecting things overall, even with masking.

TFS
Steve

[gail bisson]

I absolutely love the warm light on this image.
Pose and your choice of comp are excellent. I have seen BO's doing this pose but only when it is raining.
My only wish is that the OOF ground in LLC was not there but certainly not a deal breaker. You could reduce the impact by cropping in a bit from the LHS which would actually center the owl even more by having same amount of space from wingtip to edge of frame.
You have lots of dust spots that should be cloned out. I think it is time to clean your sensor.
Did you do something to the eyes?
I would also burn the highlight / bright specular areas in the grasses
My favourite BO shot of yours,
Gail

[Juan Tolentino]

Hello Melissa, I love the POV and pose! Agree with the suggestions already given. Cheers

[Melissa Usrey]

Thank you Allen!

[Melissa Usrey]

Thank you! The photographer (me) kept running back to my air-conditioned car, lol. No, nothing done at all to the eyes. They look a bit green to me, but that must have been the light or the reflection of the grass. I have to look at the original, but I don't think I overly cropped it. I was pretty close to the Owlet.

[Melissa Usrey]

Thanks Steve. I could try balancing out the color and cool it down some. If I remember correctly, I had my WB set at 5500k which may have given the sunset even more warmth. No, I didn't do any cloning. I did think about cloning out the white poop areas, but I'm not yet skilled at using the cloning tool. I do like your rendition by the way.

[Melissa Usrey]

Gail, I'm glad you like the warm light! I'm pretty sure I had my WB set a bit high for sunset. In all the time I observe these Owls, I've never seen this pose. It was unbelievably hot, and I'm guessing he was trying to cool off. I wanted originally to center him, but I've had that rule of thirds drummed into me for so long, I wanted to at least make him off center. Yes, my camera was completely cleaned by Canon a week ago! No, I did nothing to his eyes. They look greenish to me which is a bit odd. This particular BO family is my favorite so I hope to get many more photos in the next few months (even with the heat).

[Melissa Usrey]

Thank you Juan!!!

[William Dickson]

Love the crop, and Steve's RP really makes the owl 'pop' especially around the eyes. Great POV. Well done Melissa. Good work.

Will