Barred Owl

[Mike Tracy]

Although I got some of him flying in pretty blue skies and uniform back grounds I thought it more of a challenge to try to capture a image within the deep oak hammocks where they live.

Not sure if the background is too busy or the bird appears too dark which is why I am soliciting honest opinions. Aware of the noise but didn't know if this was worth spending additional time on so I left it as is.

As always, thanks in advance for your insights.

MKIII, EF500, 1/4000, f/4, ISO800, E.C. +.3, HH

[Mike Fuhr]

Lovely shot. I actually like the habitat in the background, as well as a touch of blur on the wing tips to show motion. Very nice!

[Dan Walker]

Love the intense stare and the wing position. Face is very sharp. Love the BG showing its habitat, although I may try to blur it a little, but an extra round or 2 of the NR you spoke of may take care of that. Well done

[Brian Barcelos]

Mike, good job keeping focus on him with the difficult BG. Love the wing position and dangling feet. I'd run noise reduction and also darken the BG some. I imagine this was overall lightened in pp and thats why there is noise on the bird and I think you over sharpened it. To be honest this doesn't work for me and I'd love to see some images of him with the cleaner BG. Good attempt though.

[Marina Scarr]

If this photo were mine, I would think it were worth working on. The pose of this owl is great. I love the raised wings and the inclusion of the environment. Yes, the BG is busy. However, this is the owls' habitat. It's much easier to photograph them in flight on a blue sky. It's in their environment such as this that the photography gets tricky. I would be proud of this one if it were mine.

[Stu Bowie]

Great headon approach, good eye contact, and I like the symmetry of the wings. I would try and darken the BG a tad, and agree the face is a bit oversharpened. Still, well captured Mike.

[Glenda Simmons]

I love the wing position and the coming at you look. A great shot in the bird's natural habitat.

[Narayan Pai]

great flight shot and nice eye contact ..... and I agree with the others .... it would be worth tyring out those suggestions

[Kiran Poonacha]

the natural setting adds well, to this hunt like in coming flight pose... loved the details and eye contact here, congrats..