Lipsmackin, thirstquenchin, acetastin...

Firstly many thanks to those of you posted a reply on the previous posting and in relation to the white 'droppings', everything was clear before the owlets arrived, I made sure of that. But you know what youngsters are like at that age, in at one end and straight out the other... so I tend now to leave it in the image unless it's easily removed.

Having removed an area of nettles, and then forked the area to uncover some bugs & beetles for them, this little fellow found a nice tasty earthwork, full of rich goodness & protein. I'm not sure if he is winking at me in thanks, or it's just a face of pleasure, WDYT? Originally I had it as a portrait format, as shot, but felt a closer crop worked better.

Steve
Subject: Little owlet eating an earthworm within a nettle patch (Athene noctua)
Location: UK
Camera: Canon 1DX
Lens: 500f/4
Exposure: 1/1600s at f/5.6 ISO2000 +0.67 stop compensation

Impressive facial expression captured here, thats what i like a lot about this one
Sharp where it needs to be, the worm adds a lot
colours look nice,
The OOF foreground is a bit overpowering to my eye in here, may be taking off a inch of the bottom may look interesting however its more of our eyes

Good looking fun shot of this baby with its catch. Techs look good and lots of detail the closed eye is pretty funny. I agree about taking off a bit off the bottom to reduce the OOF foreground. Nice one.

Steve! I love shooting these little joys. I must have missed the other post and the droppings:eek3: Sweet face and one eye closed tells the story of the wiggly worm. I love that you captured it in all those greens rather than the typical sandy lot

Funny how it's just humans that seem to get stung by nettles. I like this as posted and find the foreground helps lead the eye into the image to that tasty looking wee wurim.

Steve, you must have a lot of fun with these guys! Really sharp where it counts. I bet you could see your reflection in the eye. The worm looks quite tasty. I find the leaf on the right competing with the owl for my attention. I think taking a little bit of the right in a more traditional vertical format could work here too. Loi

i would think his face reflects the taste of his meal. love the swishing prey & the contrasting visibility of the eyes.
the comp & the DOF works for me.

It definitely winked at you!!:w3 Unique image in that I don't recall seeing an owl eat a worm, pretty neat. I like the comp you chose and the FG does not bother me. Only the paler streak above the head could use a bit of attention IMO, and maybe overall a touch "cool" on the WB...unless that is what you were going for.

Very nice image indeed Steve, I like it very much, super details and a magic pose - couldn't ask for more!

Sorry guys for the late reply and thanks for taking the time to reply & view, however I been out firstly trying to find these guys as they have flown the nest, but am trying to work with one of the youngsters at present.

Daniel, I thend to work on getting a mid grey to define the WB, then it comes down to personal choice in direction of temp IMHO. It was taken towards 5.00pm on an overcast evening, so I think it looks OK, plus the nettles were not too green either, but always good to get other thoughts as we can sometimes overlook them when processing. I had to keep a high SS to ensure I catch something, these morsels disappear very quickly.

cheers
Steve