short eared owl

[Alexander Koenders]

These birds are verry rare in Holland so beeing able to make a portret is derfore a verry special moment.

Olympus E3, Zuiko ED300 F2.8, zuiko 2.0 converter, 600mm focuslength, 1/80 sec, F7.1, ISO400, +1 stop

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I would love to have seen the light evenly on that beautiful face. It is a good portrait regardless and love to see the sun in at least its left eye. Did you not already post this here (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=34355)?

Thanks for sharing.

[Alexander Koenders]

Oeps...yes indeed. I have posted this one before......can I delete it?

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

If you ask a moderator, I am sure they can for you. :) Still love seeing it though!

[Fabs Forns]

Alexander, I will delete if you want to, but I think it is good that I don't mind seeing it again and this way it will reach some members that didn't see it in the first round.
Excellent detail and EXP. He seems to be looking at a point higher than you or this may be an optical illusion given the horizon's reflection in the eyes.


Very well done, congratulations!

[Steve Large]

Hello Alex,
This is a wonderful image and worth seeing again. I love to see tight portraits such as this and the detail and the lighting are superb. I myself have gotten quite close as you have here but never with the wonderful results and the good lighting conditions such as this. The short-ears are all gone here on Vancouver Island now until next Winter when we get them for about four months. Even with 600mm equivalent you must have been quite close to get such detail. Good work!

All the best,

Steve Large

[Lana Hays]

Hey Alex......I thought I'd seen that owl before. Don't worry.......it's a beauty and I love it just as much as before. They are so interesting....with a surprised look on their face. Wonderful sharpness in the eyes and face while showing the smoothness of the breast. Wonderful light....and I wish it was mine.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Pretty darn nice portrait Alexander. One thing no one mentioned is the slightly tilted face (one eye is slightly higher than the other) and needs a slight CCW rotation. It may not be noticeble much, but I would still use the ruler tool to draw a line connecting the center of each pupil then use Image>Rotate canvas>Arbitrary. Overall very well done!! :-)

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

Your comment about leveling the face is an interesting one. In human portraits, you often want a bit of face turn, or head tilt, not dead level and straight ahead. I wonder how that aesthetic translates to bird portraits?

Just a thought in response to your comment.

Cheers

Randy

[Daniel Cadieux]

Randy, for human portraits I agree about a face turn but I'm not too keen on head tilts (those "tilted" head portraits seem too "staged" IMO, for sure personal preference and others may disagree). I like owls looking straight on, their eyes are so riveting and make squared to the sensor plane stares often quite powerful. I feel like I am in a staring contest with this guy and level eyes would make it seem stronger - if you've done staring contests for fun you'll notice that you are pretty much staring straight ahead and level against your "competitor". Hope I make sense? :-)

[Stu Bowie]

I think this is a brilliant image, and of course those eyes just make this pop. Excellent detail captured on the head, and cant help but would like to see this larger.

[Brian Wong]

Pretty darn nice portrait Alexander. One thing no one mentioned is the slightly tilted face (one eye is slightly higher than the other) and needs a slight CCW rotation. It may not be noticeble much, but I would still use the ruler tool to draw a line connecting the center of each pupil then use Image>Rotate canvas>Arbitrary. Overall very well done!! :-)

Hi Alexander!

I am actually looking at the reflection in the owl's eyes ... and wonder if Daniel can comment on the reflected horizon that I see. If the horizon was water, then I would think that should be used as "level". However if the reflected horizon was a hill or slope ... then disregard.

[Alexander Koenders]

Hi Alexander!

I am actually looking at the reflection in the owl's eyes ... and wonder if Daniel can comment on the reflected horizon that I see. If the horizon was water, then I would think that should be used as "level". However if the reflected horizon was a hill or slope ... then disregard.

The horizon in the eyes of the owl is a Dutch Dike of moren then 6 meters high that we need to keep the water out of our country so i keep it the way it is;):D