Easten Red-Morph Screech Owl

[Josh Clark]

Eastern Red-Morph Screech Owl taken March of this year in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio.
There was a pair nesting, a Red-Morph and a Grey-Morph. I was very lucky that day in that I had a touch of snow added in various places around the cavity which I think adds to the image.
Thanks for looking. C & C always welcome.

102695

7D, Manual, 1/40sec @ f/8, ISO 200, 700mm (500f/4L + 1.4x), fill flash used, taken on 3/6/2011 at 3:48pm, remote trigger was used for this shot
Eastern Red-Morph Screech Owl

[Karl Egressy]

Great finding and an excellent picture, Josh. The snow really adds interest.
The red morph is very rare.

[Randy Stout]

Josh:

Nice finding, I have only seen the gray morphs here.

Snow def. adds.

Since the gaze is to the left, I might consider a sliver off the right to move him off center a bit. Could try a bit off the top as well to balance it. Nice as is however.

Like the texture in the bark.

Cheers

Randy

[Mital Patel]

Indeed the snow is addition to this beautiful image Josh, Very well handled at 1/40s. beautiful image

[Ron Sprunger]

Great job, love the snow and the colors. Agree about the crop, but surely not very much off.

[jack williamson]

Good for you Josh, great find and a well exposed and sharp owl. I like the perch he is in and the snow is a plus.

Jack

[Stu Bowie]

The little guy looks cosy in the tree. Good eye contact, and nicely framed in the hollow, and agree the snow adds a nice touch. Sounds like you got yourself a rare sighting here.

[Jim Crosswell]

Great image Josh! I like the setting, snow and exposure. We have a red morph around the house.

[Dan Behm]

Josh,
Excellent image, One of the best Cavity shown Owl Images I have seen, It really leads you to the Owl the bark with snow just pushes it over the top!

[Grace Scalzo]

I've come back to this image a few times, Josh, as I like it a ton. I am wondering if the composition could be tweaked just a bit. I'm undecided about the ULC. Might try eliminating that (so that only bark fills the frame) and adding a bit to the bottom, if you have it. Love the texture and color of the bark, and of course the snow. Even the way that the snow lies in the cavitiy making that nice S shape is a big plus. If this was my image, it would be hanging large in my house. Full of interest and fine detail and just a super subject.

[Jim Buescher]

Hard to find a red-morph let alone one with its eyes open and in such a nice setting. Very cool shot!

[Bob Dromgoole]

WoW, beautiful capture! Can't really add much to what's been said except I absolutely love this shot.
Is this pair near your home?

[Josh Clark]

I've come back to this image a few times, Josh, as I like it a ton. I am wondering if the composition could be tweaked just a bit. I'm undecided about the ULC. Might try eliminating that (so that only bark fills the frame) and adding a bit to the bottom, if you have it. Love the texture and color of the bark, and of course the snow. Even the way that the snow lies in the cavitiy making that nice S shape is a big plus. If this was my image, it would be hanging large in my house. Full of interest and fine detail and just a super subject.

Thanks for the comments and critque everyone. I appreciate the thoughts on how improve the photo. I want to learn as much as I can from this group and continue to grow as a photographer. However for this image, I am pleased with it as is. I did take into consideration about eliminating the ULC but I feel that adds a sense of depth to the tree and makes it more unique looking. This was shot as a portrait so I don't have too much wiggle room around it without adding canvas. Again, I do appreicate the critiquing here. That is why I joined the group.