Burrowing owls in tall thick grass

[Erich Stevens]

This is the entrance to a burrow in a neighborhood park near my home. The entrance is overgrown with weeds and grass, making it impossible to get a clear shot of the owls. As long as I was there, they wouldn't venture outside the growth, of course. Not on foot anyway. So I decided a photo of the owls almost completely obscured might make an interesting alternative. Does the image work? Is it interesting? Thanks for looking!

Nikon D80
Nikon 300mm f/2.8 AI-S
ISO 200
1/200
f/?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the idea, soft light eye contact and the fact that the eyes are not obstructed by blades of grass. I might crop a bit off the bottom and desaturate the greens a few points.

[Philip Pietri]

Good to see people trying new things. Looks like you got the owls tack sharp - must have been hard with all of that grass in the fore ground. Exposure looks good. I would try taking some off the bottom for more of a landscaped composition -- and DEFINITELY try this out in high-contrast black and white (might look really cool!)

[denise ippolito]

I agree with more off the bottom. They both look so cute together. Sharpness looks good.

[Phil Ertel]

I like the presentation. In my opinion, the inclusion of the habitat makes the lines form the grasses as important as the birds. If it were mine I would try a tighter crop.

[John Chardine]

This is super Erich. It's an example of an environmental image that works so well. Greens don't look too hot to me on monitor. Another vote for some off the bottom and while you are about it maybe a bit off either side as well to balance the bottom crop.

[Harshad Barve]

Lovely eyes here , nice to see habitat and greens look great
another vote for cropping a bit from bottom
TFS

[Kiran Poonacha]

I love this, the setting with good, the eye contact and placement works well.. congrats..

yeah sure a tighter crop would look a little better.

[Erich Stevens]

Thanks for your kind comments, everyone. And I almost didn't post this one. Here's a repost with much tighter crop and converted to black and white per Philip's suggestion. Converted to b&w in Ps using b&w adjustment layer, then played with the red, yellow, and green sliders to make the owls pop out of the grass. Looks kinda cool.

[Stu Bowie]

Your OP works for me Erich. Its amazing with all the blades of grass, we can see all four eyes clearly. I like their inquisitive stares, and this is a first for me, to see them in grass. Well captured.