Barred Owl in Flight

[Melissa Groo]

Canon 1D4
400mm f/5.6
Handheld

1/2000 sec
f/5.6
ISO 2000

From Fort Myers, FL in Feb. I was at the house where I was staying, and I heard barred owls calling at sunset in a wooded area nearby. I did my pathetic Who-cooks-for-you rendition, and amazingly called one in. I took this shot as the owl was flying over me and the house. The light was low and very golden.
Had to add canvas as didn't have much space around the owl. Interested to hear what people think of the comp. I did a little bit of NR on far wing but wondering if I need to do more. Light was falling fast and I had to use a high ISO.
Thanks for looking. All C & C greatly appreciated!

[Arthur Morris]

Fabulous. Perhaps a touch of gentle selective sharpening on the face. Great pose. Nice under and upper wing detail....

[Paul Lagasi]

The wings, the golden color and relatively good sharpness for high ISO, I like this a lot....I've never gotten an image of a Barred Owl in flight.
Only thing I could wish for is a slightly better head angle...I'd take this in an instant for my files.
Lots of Short-eared and Snowies on Wolfe and Amherst these past few days....

[Roger Clark]

Hello Melissa,

A really beautiful image. I agree with the above (wish for a slightly toward you but still great as is, and need of sharpening on the head/body). This image looks like a great candidate for Richardson-Lucy deconvolution that would really sharpen it up. I like the phase angle too:w3.

Roger

[Grace Scalzo]

The light is just spectacular.

[gail bisson]

Hi Melissa,
I love the light and the fact that you called this guy in on your own!!Very awesome. I would selectively sharpen the face. I really like the dangly feet and the detail of the near wing. In a perfect world he would be looking more toward you.
Now I have to google Richardson-Lucy deconvolution!!Please send me a link Roger!
Gail

[Josh Clark]

Looks great to me Melissa and congrats on calling this guy in. Killer light you captured this in.

[Melissa Groo]

Thanks so much to all for the comments and suggestions on sharpening. Here is another go with more aggressive sharpening. Roger, I must know more about this Richardson-Lucy deconvolution!

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot. Love the golden light, great flight pose, and I like the comp.
Very well done.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Melissa, great flight posture, and the late light has brought exceptionally warm colours to the owl. Your comp works well, and the additional sharpening on your repost looks good.

[arash_hazeghi]

sweet light and nice pose, the repost with more sharpening is excellent. wing position is great but I do wish for a slight head turn towards you. well done

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Nice! Great work on the call and the wing detail is amazing. I like the comp and the light as well. Great Job.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Sweet light! Yeah.....maybe a slight head turn.....but a keeper for sure!

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely capture, Melissa, and the repost is even better. You got a lot of details under the near wing as well as the facial area. Like the clean BG. Lucky you to have found this raptor so close.