My First Sunset - Great Horned Owlet

This owlet had just fledged earlier in the day and spent the afternoon with talons embedded in the tree trunk while trying to keep from being knocked down from the wind gusts. As the afternoon progressed, the fledgling appeared to be gazing out over the beach and Gulf at its first sunset. I just love the way the owlet's "skirt" is blowing and how his curve matches that of the tree trunk. Following the progress of these owlets was a real treat.

Canon 1D4, Canon 500L
F6.3, 1/1600sec, ISO 640, manual mode
Feisol tripod, Jobu head

C & C always welcomed and much appreciated.

Thumbs up from me Marina, I like it a lot :S3:. Light, placement of the owl and trunk. Quite the little diva eh!

Excellent image owlet.I like the way curves of the owlet matching with tree trunk,well spread claws on the perch and blown out feathers.
Nice colors,light and superb composition.

Regards,
Satish.

Wow, look at those talons! Love the skirt blowing and the down feathers. Was it a big crop? On my iPad, the Owlet's head and eyes seem a bit soft. Loi

Lovely image.
At first glance the trunk may seem to be over powering the owlet, but at closer look it has a nice shape which separate the image into two tones very nicely. I too like the blow feathers too. Wish there a way to capture this eye level.

The darker color and the composition of the owl draws ones attention to the owl. Nicely composed, eye-catching image.

Hiran

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Originally Posted by Thanaboon Jearkjirm

Lovely image.
At first glance the trunk may seem to be over powering the owlet, but at closer look it has a nice shape which separate the image into two tones very nicely. I too like the blow feathers too. Wish there a way to capture this eye level.

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This image is nearly full frame. Maybe when you see it on your desktop monitor, the owl will look sharp.

Image is plenty sharp. Great view of this new owlet. I like the "tutu" like feathers on the bottom. Great capture

This is a sweet image, the comp works very well here!

Nice shot of this fresh one. The light is beautiful and the form of the trunk adds to the whole scene. Like the pant feathers blowing in the wind and the owlet looks sharp. Good work.

1st prize for the best silly legs competition LOL

Like the way the tree trunk semi frames the bird...nice curvature there. great score Marina

Fantastic photo Marina. I love the composition and placement of the owlet.

Lovely image, detail, colour and exposure looks great to me and i love the tree. The sky just looks a little too Cyan to me but it may well just be me.

Very artistic Comp here Marina. I really like the curve of the trunk and how you created a "small in the frame" image. The light is gorgeous as is the little chick and I love the little skirt!

Love the title! Great light, and composition. I like that it is looking up and over way out into the distance, but I'd also like a version where its head is looking down a bit more...I'm sure you have some of those too. Super nice feel to this.

I like the matching curves, wind blown feathers, light and composition. Excellent image Marina!

Hi Marina, I like the overall setting and how you have comped this. Exquisite light, alert stare, and the fluffy wind swept feathers puts this up a few notches. An opportunity well used.

Stunning framing by the tree and love the look on that Owl!
well seen and excecuted!

greetings,

Jeroen Stel

Everyone else has already said it but so must I, the tree framing the owl and this composition is awesome. He looks quite content to watch the sun set.

Sweet, looks like he's wearing a tutu! I'd like to see what a deeper blue in the background would look like, seems really light for sunset, but I like it the way it is too. Just got your cover of living bird news too, is this the same Owl?

Jim

Marina, I am an owl addict. Love this one. The composition is wonderful. Big tree—little bird.

Sweet....one of those images that just makes me smile.

Marina like the owlet like how you have composed the owlet with curve of the tree the blowing feathers around the legs the look that its given like iam going to fly out there very soon

Marina ,This looks to me to be one more of your prize winning Photographs . I tip my hat to you !........Again!

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Originally Posted by Jim Thomas

Sweet, looks like he's wearing a tutu! I'd like to see what a deeper blue in the background would look like, seems really light for sunset, but I like it the way it is too. Just got your cover of living bird news too, is this the same Owl?

Jim

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This is actually the natural sky, Jim. I would be afraid that if the sky were too blue, it might take away some of the focus off of my owlet.

No, this is not the same owlet as on the cover of Living Bird. That owl family is from a Fort Desoto nesting pair where I spent quite a bit of time this winter.

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Originally Posted by Derek Willcox

Marina like the owlet like how you have composed the owlet with curve of the tree the blowing feathers around the legs the look that its given like iam going to fly out there very soon

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Hi Derek: Just after the sun went down, this owlet actually got the intestinal fortitude to fly to a nearby tree. Then his sibling actually left the nest a few minutes later. It was just amazing to witness, albeit difficult to shoot at very high ISO's b/c it had gotten pretty dark. I did give it the ol' college try though. My shutter speed was so low, I think I got one that was sharp. Better one than none!

Realy,really fine. And such a " wise" composition:bg3: Love all your owl shots

Well executed Marina. Another great shot.

I love the way the Owl is framed by the curve of the tree, the bird has a great stand to attention pose, the sky compliments colours of the bird and tree and the light is suberb. Beautiful image Marina