Northern Hawk Owl

[David Hemmings]

Canon 1D MK 11 N / Canon 400 f 5.6 / 1/2000th @ f5.6 ISO 400 / handheld

http://avianart.smugmug.com/photos/239443314-O.jpg

[Eric Wikander]

Super shot. Love the action and the clarity.

[Rick A. Brown]

That's so good it just ain't right.

[Mike Wilson]

This is one incredible image. The light from below really adds a lot.

[Ivan Miksik]

It's an excellent image - I am surprise what can photograph in wild. I know photos like this with falconer's owl/bird of prey only.

[Nikolay Staykov - shotlandetsa]

pretty amaizing !! the gesture, the lighting and the composition are spot on!

[َAbdolreza Kazemi]

very nice shot with good sharpnes & light .

Thanks

[Jacqui Hendry]

I'm getting depressed now :-(

Such an amazing image I'm almost speechless :-)

Jacqui

[Alfred Forns]

Hi David, Love the straight at you look !!!!! Impressive and high impact !!! Big Congrats !!!

[Krijn Trimbos]

That is really cool!

[Maxis Gamez]

Hello David,

The wings are terrific, you did well with timing. The mean look is also a plus. Excellent image.

[Anthony Medici]

The image certainly has very good impact. I would have loved to be in a situation to get a similar image, which is not likely in the near future. Sticking with the concept of how to improve the image, I find that either the image is over exposed or the presentation needs improvement. The levels graph is very far to the right with whites and yellows at the maximum. If they could be brought down and the blacks brought up a little, the impact would improve. Also, I'd be tempted to crop and rotate the image slightly so that the right wing is pointing directly into the left corner. Certainly an image worth playing with to get the maximum impact in the presentation.

[Jody Melanson]

Wicked image man! As mentioned, it looked a little hot. What I did was using the Select Color Range tool, I selected highlights only, CTRL + J to paste them into a new layer. Change the new Layer Blend Mode to Multiply. Then select using the Magic Wand, the BG only. I Saturated just the BG.

http://jmelanson.smugmug.com/photos/239521940-O.jpg

[Mike McCarthy]

Sweet action capture David. Love the pose. Wing position and eye contact make this one. Nice job.

[Doug Brown]

I should only be so lucky to get a shot like this one! Nice job.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

David !!!! This is one sweet image with incredible timing. It has it all with beautiful flight pose and the definite , serious look in the eyes puts way over the top for me. A real winner !!!

[Dobromir Dobrinov]

Excellent image

[Axel Hildebrandt]

What a poser this owl is. Great pose and BG, David. As for exposure, I would prefer something between your and Jody's version. Both look perfectly fine, though.

[Steve Foss]

Agreed with all said here so far. For me, the flared tail takes the image from good and makes it excellent.

[Fabs Forns]

Great wingspan, and centered works for me here.

Thanks for sharing it and making me hate you ;) :)

[Gary "Jake" Jacobson]

I like Jody's version, she beat me to the punch. I spent some time shooting Northern Hawk Owls and know how difficult it is to get a good action shot. This is excellent. Great work David!

[Samuel Mulder]

David, This is an amazing image. Can you tell us anything about the technique used to get him flying head-on like this? Was it just luck/patience, or did you use something like a call or baiting?

[David Hemmings]

David, This is an amazing image. Can you tell us anything about the technique used to get him flying head-on like this? Was it just luck/patience, or did you use something like a call or baiting?

Thanks samuel for the kind comments. The Hawk Owl was baited for this image.
Dave

[Glenn Bartley]

Awesome image David. I think as far as processing goes somtheing in between yours and Jody's would be perfect.

[Jim Neiger]

David,

This is just a stunning image. I wish I was there with you to photgraph these NHOs. I like what Jody did in his version too.

Jody,

I understand what you did with the bg, but what processing did you do to the bird itself?

[Jody Melanson]

David,

This is just a stunning image. I wish I was there with you to photgraph these NHOs. I like what Jody did in his version too.

Jody,

I understand what you did with the bg, but what processing did you do to the bird itself?

I just selected the highlights using Select Color tool and then pasted into new layer. Change the Blend Mode of that layer to Multiply and it will darken the Layer, Jim.

Would be nice to have you up here shooting with us, Jim! :)

[DanWalters]

Great shot! Really like the repost.

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

Great flight shot,big congrats!!!