Burrowing owl at sunrise

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

40D. 400f5.6L at f/6.3. iso400. 1/100s. bean bag for support. almost full frame. in-camera vertical.

I had positioned myself to get the light on my back but the bird wasn't giving me the full head turn. had to move a little to the left. A slow, cold and windy Sunday morning in the countryside. traffic was pretty much nonexistent...glad I could lay flat in the middle of the road :-) FG is OOF road.

[Marina Scarr]

You have a great BO in last light of day with a killer BG and details but that FG just detracts too much for my eyes.

[Markus Hanika]

Let me comment (even if i haven't shown a photo up to now):
Really nice colors (execpt for the lower FG) and not the typical pose.
It's really sad that you could change the angle to get the lower part of the owl visible.
I agree with Marina the FG districts quite a bit. I believe it's especially obvious as the color (gray) does not match any other area in the photo.
I assume cutting of the gray area (and probably also a slight bit on top as well to get the balance in the photo again)

[Tom Rambaut]

Agree with FG issue - I find myself looking at it and wondering what it is rather than looking at the bird. Nice light and of course a great species. You have so many good images of this species I would not keep his one.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Higher angle would not have worked here. BG would have been quite ugly. I can always crop this shot to get rid of FG...but to balance it out, I'll have to get rid of the top part of the BG...which has the best colors. For sake of balance and virtual tail, I have to keep the FG in.

What I can do is selectively fix the color of the FG. Since it is shade, it is very cool..can warm it up a bit. will do that at home tonight.

I did move closer and got some closeups.

[Stuart Hill]

Love the reflection of the sun in the eye and warm tones. Looking forward to seeing the repost with the oof road warmed up.

regards.
Stu.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

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[Sidharth Kodikal]

You sure got some gorgeous light that morning and the catch light shows how low the sun was.
I like the comp, the warmth and the dof. Sharpness is perfect too.
The contrasting fg makes it a bit tricky but it did grow on me - a definite keeper in my book.

[Jim Crosswell]

Great IQ, lighting, eyes and BG. The FG is a bit distracting for me as well. Still a beauty Kaustubh!

[Karl Egressy]

Killer light on the bird and a bautiful background. The forground might not be the best but still it is a wonderful picture overall, Kaustubh.

[Jack Breakfast]

If this were mine I would kiss myself constantly but would also crop so that there is just a smidgin of the somewhat disagreeable foreground. Perhaps this is too facile a suggestion for some of the more elevated but anyhow to my eye(s) it looks quite good...
Stunning owl! Holy cats! Well done...
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[Robert Holguin]

Excellent image. Love the soft warm morning light and the refelection of the sunrise in its eye is superb. Very nice detail, great background, and I personally think your repost fixed the FG problem.
Very well done.

[Ofer Levy]

Beautiful light and colours. FG is an issue but the repost by Jack doesn't work for me.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi KD, I just love the light and warm colours in this, and your traditional low angle has turned out well. With regards to the FG, although not ideal, but when one casts your eye over the owl, the FG tends to 'disappear'. I will take this any day, and warming up the FG in your repost although subtle, works for me.

[Craig Brelsford]

Stu just about says it for me. I love your brook-no-compromise commitment to the low angle, Kaus. The FG is a problem, but the morning light is sweet.

[Doug Brown]

A lot to like here, but the FG really spoils things IMO. Any chance of going with a tight crop that eliminates the FG entirely?

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Doug, I did move closer and got a few closeups. here's one. stopped down to f/7.1...shud have stopped down more.

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[Kaustubh Deshpande]

ignore the compression artifacts. had to save at low quality setting and only 900px wide to get within the 250kb limit.