Saw-whet Owl

[Joe Brown]

Canon 5D Mark II
300mm 2.8
1.4TC
f8.0
1/80
ISO640
cropped, selective B/C, selective S/H, selective sharpening, dodged eyes

[Randy Stout]

Joe:
Lovely little owl, very nice colors/pattern on the breast.

For my taste I find the owl too bright, looks almost as if too much fill flash used (You didn't mention any).
I looked at a version 1/3 stop lower in exposure, seemed a bit more natural.

The head may be a bit oversharpened, as it is starting to look a bit "stuck on" to the background. Sharpening tastes tend to be very personal, and I do tend to run towards less, rather than more.

In a perfect world, I wish the background was slightly less busy. I know, this is where they live. Perhaps some adjustments in luminosity in the background would retain the environmental feel, without detracting from the bird.
I assume there was out of focus vegetation in front of the trunk on the right, causing the green haze?

Owls are always a challenge in their favored habitat.

Cheers

Randy

[Rick Dobson]

Nice to see that you caught this little guy exposed, as they love to tuck themselves away in the thickest parts of the tree. I don't mind so much the busy background as the whiteness of it. I would try to create a little more contrast between the bird and the white parts of the BG possible with selective masking and exposure/shadinging

[Joe Brown]

Thanks very much Randy for your comments.
Flash was not used. I don't use flash on owls with their night vision eyes.
You're right, the green haze is due to oof vegetation. Would be very difficult to remove it.
This site is great for getting second opinions. I did not realize that it was too bright and over processed. I'll give go back and rework with the aim of a more realistic look.

Joe

[Randy Stout]

Joe:
I was pretty sure you didn't use flash, just that the look of the image was
"as if you had". That effect came from over lightening of the bird,IMO.

Cheers

Randy

[Joe Brown]

Here's a reworked version. No sharpening, selected bg and using TAT function in curves to darken bg. Adjusted brightness of subject. Reduced green haze caused by oof vegetation.
What do you think?

Joe

[Randy Stout]

Joe:

I think the repost does look more natural. In the real world, the owl was probably still darker than the repost, basing that on the luminosity of the trunk next to it. The problem is, that which makes the bird stand out more, often doesn't reflect the real scene. Its a fine thing.

Randy