Burrowing Owl

[Bill Pruitt]

Hi everyone! Some mighty nice images pass through these boards. I hope I can keep the quality up to everyone else's. Here is a burrowing owl I took today. He was hiding in the grass then just jumped up on the perch just for me.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 300 f4 w/2x. No crop
Center weighted with - 1/3 comp.
1/400 sec. f/8 ISO 200
Lens braced on window of vehicle.

Comments welcome.

Bill
http://billpruittphotography.com

[LeeOtsubo]

Wow, beautiful bird and the BG is very complementary. You can post up to 800 pixels wide so that would better show the feather details. Looks like it could stand a bit more midtone contrast but that's an individual taste. Also, I'd clone out the "leg irons". I wish I could find cooperative owls like this around here.

[Robert O'Toole]

Hi Bill

The image looks fairly sharp and the exposure is good.

At a quick glance the image is cropped too tight, the birds needs some breathing room, esp on the right side. The light is a little harsh also, I usually dont even think about shooting these guys unless it is cloudy or the sun is right on the horizon.

Robert

[Lana Hays]

Bill
Since this is a "no crop" image....you could add some room all around to give the little guy some space. In the past, I might have cloned out the bands but today I leave them as they are a part of the bird.....whether he wants them or not. A few of the whites seemed a tad hot on my monitor so I toned them down and added some room. See what you think.

[James Salywoda]

Excellent shot! I love Lana's repost.

[Bill Pruitt]

Thanks to all, and Lana I like the revision also. I assume you just made the canvas larger and cloned to fill? I don't think removing the banding is a good idea. It may not be very pleasant to see, but it is significant, and I prefer to leave it.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Bill where is this little guy from?

The 300 2.8 and 2X will give you a sharp image This one is not quite there Look at your set up!!! Your ISO is at 200 and shutter speed at 1/400 sec Your effective focal length is 900 Why not go to a much higher ISO The camera does perform very well I get excellent results at 800 and do not hesitate going higher Will take a little noise over soft everyday of the week !!!

Love the bg and placement with the added room !!! Excellent image !!!!

[Lana Hays]

Bill
I just added canvas and then used the "transformation" tool rather than cloning to fill in the canvas. I also used the lasso and selected the transformed area plus a little more and added a blur to it so that it looked a bit smoother.

[Ed Cordes]

I also like number 2 better due to the extra room. The bands do not bother me as they are part of the bird now. I love those eyes.