This One Has a Dark Face

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We photographed Great Gray Owls in several locations. This place was a bit of a hike, but a handsome darker-faced owl made the trip well worth it!

Canon 1Dx, 300mm f/2.8, f/7.1, 1/1250, ISO 1000, manual exposure, hand held, baited.

DOUG:

He is indeed handsome. The darker face really makes the eyes pop. I think the colors in the BG go very well with the bird, like that some texture is visible in the snow near him, the faint flakes of snow in the air.

If you don't mind going a bit more square on the crop, because of his direct ahead gaze, I could see a modest crop from the left. The diagonal slope of the bird would keep a square crop from being too static in this case I think.

Could the dark face be age related?

Cheers

Randy

I like the stare, the perfect angle of the head in relation to the camera. It shows a hint of the habitat being a snow field with a forested area in the back. Great shot overall, Doug.
I wish I were there. Maybe next year.

beautiful stare and nice detail. perfect exposure and good post processing.

I agree with Randy about the crop. A "portrait" pose, as opposed to an action shot, needs less room for the animal to move into.

Beautiful portrait of this GG, such a wonderful intent look at you. His colors are exactly a blend of the snow and the background. I like the comp as is but I could also see some trimmed off the left side.

Super shot great claity and detail, excellent pose too.

Outstanding image. Killer expression and spot on exposure , along with great eye contact make this one real sweet.

Wow I love the environment. You could not have matched this guy to a better BG. His pose is just perfect and those eyes are awesome!

At first glance they all look the same, but up close each owl is different as shown here.
Love the stare he/she gave you, I have to get back up there soon.

Lovely portrait, Doug. I am with Randy on a more square crop. If there were more snow or grasses on the left, I might prefer it as is. But it's looking a little stark and I think a tighter crop would better focus on just your fabulous owl and its unique facial disc.

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Appreciate the honest feedback. Here's a 5x7 crop that I think works better. What do you think?

Agree this works much better on showing casing your unique owl, Doug. The snow shows up better too!

Excellent pose and details. I like the intense eye contact.

Stunning image!!
That stare is just amazing and those yellow eye just pop!!
Excellent details and repost is much better.
Well done.

Beautiful portrait, great details and eye contact.

I like the pose from this beautiful owl, eye catch your attention.
Details on the feathers are outstanding, exposure is spot-on !!

Thanks for the feedback. That's what makes BPN so great IMO!

Repost brings lots of attention to those amazing eyes. Great capture.

Glad you got the chance to see and photograph this gorgeous individual! The eyes pop from the dark face. The re-crop works well.

Excellent pose and details. I like the intense eye contact.