Burrowing Owl

[Jory Griesman]

After silently watching the forum for a couple of weeks, I thought it was time for my first post (yikes). This was taken last year in Cape Coral, next to a drainage pipe, which I've tried to clone out.

Nikon D70S Handheld 300 mm f2.8 VR with Nikon 2X
f/10 at 1/40 sec ISO 200 No exposure compensation or flash.

[Alfred Forns]

HI Jory !!!! Glad you decided to get your feet wet and post !!!! Big Welcome !!!!!!

Excellent pose and detail Did real good holding steady at that low shutter speed I like stopping down at that close distance Also like there are no body parts clipped If anything might go a tad darker and if you have give the bird a little more room You did well with your cloning !!! Looking forward to many more !!!

[Maxis Gamez]

I like the set up and composition on this one. Very nice PS work!

[James Shadle]

Jory,
About time!

Very well done image.
All of the tech stuff looks really good.
IMO a little warm WB and more room under the owl would make this an even stronger image.
James
PS I'm behind (as normal) in my emails. So I want to say, thanks again and I hope you had a great time.

[Lana Hays]

Jory
I'm glad to see the others have already given you such good advice. I think this one looks very nice. Usually I see different backgrounds and I rather like this one. The "dark" area gives the appearance of a burrow or place to hide so I think it looks quite natural. Well done.

[Jim Neiger]

Hi Jory,

Very nice image to start with. I like the composition and the habitat that makes up the bg/fg. You did well with your cloning. I wouldn't have known if you hadn't mentioned it. This image could have been posted in wild and free since there are no HOM elements visible.

[Jory Griesman]

Thanks, Jim. I thought about it, but thought better to err on the side of HOM because there were man-made elements that I magically eradicated.

[Robert Amoruso]

Jory,

You did well composing this image in a confusing BG. I like how you did it and especially the flower in front of the owl.