Snowy Owl Environmental Image

[Stephen Stephen]

I created this image a week ago Sunday while Dan Cadieux, Gary Fairhead, Ted Busby and I were looking for Short-eared owls (no luck) on Wolfe Island near Kingston, Ontario. Almost all of the land on the island is fenced so getting close to these birds is not really an option.

We saw five Snowys that day and this male bird was photographed in the late afternoon. I liked the position of the bird on the highest post. I know that the light was coming from the far left and moved there later but none of those images appealed to me like this one.

l would have preferred to have positioned the bird a bit more to the right to meet the rule of thirds but I wanted to also show the undulating fence posts. While not as dramatic as an inflight close-up this is how I normally first encounter Snowys each winter.

Rebel XT, Sigma 50-500 @ 500mm, F 8.0, ISO 400, 1/2500. No Flash and cropped to about 60% of full frame.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/Squidcan/Birds2/Male_Snowy_08_02.jpg

[peter delaney]

stephen..

nice idea......I like the fact that you tried something different....

The only thing that I may have done differently is to use a wider aperture to throw the posts in foreground OOF...this wud lead your eye gently to the owl....and throw the posts in BG OOF aswell ...isolating your subject.....but its all subjective..thanks for sharing your lovely image.

[Fabs Forns]

Great idea and excellent mood :)

[Lana Hays]

Stephen
My first thought was to reposition the bird....just as you mentioned. I like the "feel" of this one.......and the colors blend so well. I have a feeling that this is one of those images that looks even better full size....and on the wall.

[Stephen Stephen]

Thank you Peter, Fabs and Lana. My apologies for accidentally posting this originally in Birds, Wild and Free forum. :o

[Robert Amoruso]

Stephen,

I like this as presented. I think placing the Snowy as you did works well because of the fence's shape. It goes from low to high at the Snowy and then low again. That also mimics the height of the trees in the BG. The only thing not working for me is the large sky. I would crop that some and accentuate the forms of the fence and treeline.

A very well seen and composed image. nice work.

[Dave Phillips]

I very much like this as presented. maybe a wee bit off the top.
You have just enough at the bottom to anchor the posts.....mibhgt drop off left post and let the
wire flow off the edge.

this is really nice

[James Salywoda]

This is sweet the old fence posts of various lengths add character and the subtle hint of dead brush in the foreground with a nice pose from the Snowy Owl make for a pretty image. I think this one would really be nice printed big..... Well Done!!!!

[Arthur Morris]

I like it but the big tree smack in the middle is problematic. I'd have moved to my left to move that tree left in the COMP. The whites look a bit over from here. later and love, artie

[Stephen Stephen]

Thank you Robert, James, Dave and Artie for your comments and suggestions. Here's a repost with a slightly different crop and a reduction in the "big tree smack in the middle". Artie I tried to play a bit more with the whites but I guess that I don't have the right PP touch.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/Squidcan/Birds2/Male_Snowy_08_02a.jpg