Great Gray.(c)

[David Fletcher]

Took this in February when we had some snow. One of a series, where this splendid bird hunted as if born to it. Skyline left on this occasion although appreciate a case for removal. D3 & 300 F2.8 VR. 1/1600 F4.5, ISO 400 +1 ev. Slight crop.

[Raymond Barlow]

I like this one a lot David... wondering who flys a captive GGO?? Somewhere in Europe?

[denise ippolito]

David, I like this one too! Great looking pose and composition. The snow is always a nice touch.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

This is a beauty David. Love the wide open wings and the intense stare. Excellent detail and exposure . Love it !!

[Morkel Erasmus]

stunning pose, details and exposure Dave. I don't mind the bit of sky behind as the bird commands enough of my attention as is. was this FF?

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

killer pose,wing position,angle!

[arash_hazeghi]

Awesome landing on the snow, sharp with lots of details. Well done

[John Blumenkamp]

Sweet stuff David... really like the intense look in addition to the great wing position and landing pose. Congrats. ;-)

[Steve Large]

David,
Great feather detail and out stretched wings. Nice intense stare too. Wish we got more of these guys out here on the left coast of Canada. Just the odd one sighted near Vancouver on a good year. By the way, IMO I think that the sky adds to the overall quality of the image.

Steve

[Loukie Viljoen]

A truly excellent photograph David. All has been said congrats.

[Joe Senzatimore]

KILLER. And I vote to leave the sky in as well.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Magnificent bird. Love the snow in this one. I would just level the horizon.

[Suzanne Huot]

all has been said before .Wonderful capture

[Clement Francis]

Wonderful pose, clarity and that mighty owl is dominating the picture as it should be..

[Danny J Brown]

Dude...................................awesome!!!! !!

[Ilija Dukovski]

Great pose, spread wings, that is one powerful bird.
I don't mind the sky, two color BG is fine. The snow is excellent too.
Good work!

[Matt Vosniak]

This is very special David. The intense look on the bird and the pose couldn't be better. Fabulous work!!

[Stu Bowie]

Dave, excellent timing here, you have captured a wonderful wingspread, and I like the leaning angle too. Good exposure throughout. Great capture.

[Betsie Storm]

Love your owl images, Dave, congratulations on this one.

[Grace Scalzo]

Wonderful, powerful action image, Dave. Love it.

[philperry]

Magnificent shot of a magnificent owl David. That's some wingspread.

[Danny Laredo]

David, this is super. Love the power in this image and the action is fantastic as is the wing position.

[John Ippolito]

Magnificent pose. Magnificent bird. Spread wing detail is wonderful. Excellent work, David

[David Fletcher]

Thanks all very much. Appreciate your thoughts, comments, suggestions and time.

( Morkel, not full frame, but not much of a crop. (tend to try and leave a bit of room with flight shots as have more crop choices later..tilted this one slightly to increase diagonal of wings, which wouldn't have been so do-able if exactly full frame). Thanks

[Rohan Kamath]

everything has already been said here... I just loved this one...

-Cheers,
Rohan
__________________________________________________
Conservation begins at HOME... We CAN make a difference...

[Kiran Poonacha]

Just amazing bhai, the pose, details, comp all great and the focus of the bird towards the snow puts it over the top, congrats..

[paul leverington]

I too love the pose, wings, and the look of this one David. Lots of angles in a way creating a very dynamic feel as they zig zag back and fort. The only thing that I wonder--and I know it has nothing to do with your end of things, is what's happening with his feathers? The wings are rather beat up but the tail looks like a chunk was bitten off. He might have been really struggling and was showing the wear and tear for it from hunting, but in my limited experience with GGO's they looked pretty good even when underweight as far as their feathers. Or he might have been in a fight with another GGO, or some other species of raptor. Definitely not the usual look--but then again I can appreciate the picture to exemplify their fight to survive, as well as an artistic flight shot that it is. Does make one wonder.

Paul

[David Fletcher]

Paul, you have touched on a bone of contention I have with that Falconer. Namely, bird condition, as it does raise a host of ethical questions concerning the birds welfare, let alone, the cost of driving 360 miles to find that. My solution was fairly simple which is not to use him again. Cheers.

[Nico Steenberg]

Awesome shot as usual Dave !!!!