One final image of a Northern Pygmy Owl

[gail bisson]

This image is probably my favorite of this little owl. Of course, after spending the day with him, he chose the nicest perch shortly before sunset on a cloudy day. Every shot after this was at an ISO of 3200-yuk.
You can see the dried blood from the shrew shown in the previous image.
Not baited or lured.
Canon 1Dx 600mm and 1.4 x
SS 1/30 ISO 1600 F 5.6
Crop to ~80% FF
Minimal PP bit did clone out some specular highlights in BG on RHS.Lots of NR to BG and I also ran a layer of tonal contrast( all sliders moved to -50) to the BG to try and avoid the "dreaded posterization"
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Have a good week-end everyone,
Gail

[Jim Wetherall]

This is fantastic Gail, I'd love to have shot like this in my portfolio. Can't pick a single fault with it, great job!

[John Mack]

Very nice. This is my favorite of your owl images. Nice perch nice composition and great detail.

[Arthur Morris]

A stunner. Love the blood on the bill. And the perfect framing. Where?

with love, artie

[Bill Dix]

Wowza! Before I read your text I said this has to be the favorite of the series. What a treat just to find a photograph this tiny owl; and you took the opportunity and ran with it. Beautifully done. No nits. Nice work in tough light.

[Isaac Grant]

Boy do I wish I got on that plane with you instead of going back to NY! This is great. And super results at such a crazy low shutter speed. Love the perch, colors and background. I told you about my experience of spending an entire day walking in circles looking for the Northern Pygmy that was "always there". I'm very happy that you did not have the same experience, especially after we do so poorly on owls. I think I would lower the highlights on the top of the branch just a tiny bit.

[annmpacheco]

Boy do i wish i had got on the plane with you and Isaac instead of heading home to CT!!! This frame rocks my dear, love the limb, the blood on the nose, clean BG, and those gold eyes! just wonderful

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Amazing. I love Owls and your images are pleasant to watch.

I like the perch and back ground colors.

Thanks for sharing.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, how is that stare, and in turn, love those lovely clear round eyes. I like the curved perch across the frame, together with the placement of the little guy. The hint of blood adds interest, after viewing your previous image.

[gail bisson]

A stunner. Love the blood on the bill. And the perfect framing. Where?

with love, artie
Near Vancouver.

[Frank Gruber]

Gail, lovely shot. Every thing looks good to me Bg, shaprness and of course the composition.
Congratulations!

[Joseph Przybyla]

I'm jealous, lovely image of this treasure of birds. Everything worked perfectly, thank you for sharing.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Oh boy, this image is to die for. My favorite head angles with owls are when they look downwards like this. Perfect!

[Juan Tolentino]

Hi Gail, I'm really late to the party, but I can still echo all the great comments already posted. This is a truly stunning image. Congrats and thank you for sharing this beauty.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Hi Gail, I'm here, and very glad you got on the plane. Love the downward intense stare, beautiful light, great perch and perfect BG.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu (http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu)

[David Salem]

I won't say it again but you sure got some great stuff in Vancouver. This one looks fantastic also. I really liked the perch and the Nice green background. The downward look doesn't bother me either as it looks like he or she is on the hunt. This is probably my second favorite just behind pygmy owl number two. Great job.

[arash_hazeghi]

I am glad you are stopping to make all of us jealous :bg3: Gorgeous all and a drooling photo!

TFS

[Glenn Conlan]

I am very jealous as others. This a winner Gail, spread this around to some photo contests. Very nice spending some time with you and Ann on your trip to our corner of the world. Hope to see you again

Glenn