Little Owl III ( juv)

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi folks ... I have almost moved to the Owl location , at least my girl is saying it :bg3::t3
Many hours sitting in the portable camouflage stool .... Owls are very relaxed with it , I can leave the large front window open without disturbing them .... can easily move the lens around without any affect to their behavior . I do find that quite interesting . But when you move to the property to enter the stool they fly away ....
This is the eldest of the three Owlets , almost looking like the adults . Had no chance to photograph the other two ... as they still hang around the large cherry tree , where the artificial nesting tube is installed . The two smaller ones still stay in the tube and only coming out for a short period of time , not really good to photograph because of tree structure .

So I rather take the very active elder one who lives in his own shag :bg3:

Canon EOS R3
EF 500 IS L II + 2x TC
Monopod with Gimbal

F 9 ; Iso 10.000 ; 1/2000 sec

Processed with DPP 4 and PSCC 2023 ; cropped from bottom and top for the comp

Thanks for looking and commenting to my previous postings

Cheers Andreas

[kevin Hice]

Glad to see the owls are making you a happy camper Andreas. You leave me with no complaints as your processing is perfect. I like the background it almost has a painting look to it. I wish the perch was better nothing you can do maybe replace the perch. I find raptors like to revisit the same perches. A switch may work. TFS

[Dorian Anderson]

Wooden board is a nonstarter for me, but the details do look great with the 2x. I think the large pixels help on that front. I like that we can see both nostrils.

[Brian Sump]

Andreas, are these guys really this pale in your neck of the woods?

This guy seems very bright in the mid plumages. Also, the eyes and beak and chest plumage have a very green tone - here they are much more yellow.

It's kind of ethereal with the faint background, which is nice but wish the subject would pop a little bit more.

And yeah, the 2x4 is a little raw and urban here but nice to have some moss.

[Arthur Morris]

Andreas, Please tell us about the board. Might it be replaced by a nice weathered log?

Yes, the whole thing looks very light. And from where I sit, it would use a decent crop from above and left.

with love, artie

[Jonathan Ashton]

Looks spot on to me, the overall image presentation appears rather light but looking at the feet makes me think the exposure for the owl was spot on.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Looks nice and fluffy - almost fur-like on the belly with those downy feathers!:S3: I like the vertical comp, details, and even the bright exposure. Yes, the board is unfortunate, but I suppose it does give it an urban feel. If they return on it often it is a good suggestion to see if you can replace it with something else.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks so much folks for your various and mixed comments about this image .... much appreciated .

First I will not interfere with the Owls , more than I already do ... just to get a more pleasing perch . This species is on the Red List here locally . Having only 8 breeding pairs in the large city where I do live .... so I will keep my feet still and be happy what I can get .

Second , I kept the image quite light overall as the whole scene was lit by the sun filtered through a thin cloud cover .... so overall quite bright . And the Owlets are paler and lighter in the plumage compared to the adults .

Third ... Brian these Owls do look for sure different to yours over there ... I think I did well with the colors in the eye , beak and plumage . Some might say no ..... I could go with more yellow in beak and eye . :bg3: . I do not see ( eyedropper ) any green tendency in the plumage ... albeit I checked not every inch of the plumage .

Fourth ... crop is good as is for me .

Cheers Andreas