Burrowing Owl at sunset

While in Arizona one of the species that I really wanted to photograph was Burrowing Owl. They were in an out of the way area so I was not sure that we would have time to go for them but as luck would have it, the intense heat of the day pretty much killed the bird activity so Walker and I had time to head for the owls. We got there maybe 2 hours before sundown and did not have a ton of time with the birds. It was mostly overcast as well which did not make for memorable lighting conditions. While I got plenty of photos of the birds just standing there, they certainly pale in comparison to the fantastic action shots that have been posted of the species by David Salem and Arash. So we turned our attention to creating memorable sunset photos and tried to make the best of the situation. Thankfully as the sun was setting, the sun came out from behind the clouds and offered some really nice backlit opportunities.

Canon 1dx mark ii and Canon 600 f4 ii. ISO 2500, F7.1, SS 1/1000. This is just about what it looked like straight out of the camera other than me lowering the shadows a tiny bit.

Quite dramatic with that strong orange rim-light and still some detail on the bird. I think that it would be twice as good as great if you had gotten six inches higher ...

with love, artie

Love the orange glows Isaac and the flying dirt from that owl. Very nice to see a backlit image from you. I think I'd prefer the very top cropped rather than including the brightest yellows...

This is really nice. I love the flying dust. The wide eyes are great. I'm okay with the crop as the top matches the rim lighting well. Beautiful warm colors throughout. Wish it was mine! TFS

Cool! (or warm!). I like the flying debris from the fluffing action. I'm with Ann about hiding the very brightest strip creeping in at top, but otherwise quite an image.

Great thinking on the fly. Love the rim lighting with enough detail to identify the bird. Agree with knocking some off the top as it helps to concentrate the eye.

Thanks for the comments everyone. Glad you like it. As for the little bit of brightness on the top I left it because that is a backlit shot into the sun. The brightness and intensity of the sun is what makes that colors and the contrast so striking. Did not feel there is any reason to leave that bit out.

I would take this over one of those perfect flight shots with the butter smooth backgrounds any day. This image has tons of mood to it. Very well planned and executed.

I really like this shot, that we can see enough of the features of the owl with such a dramatic backlight is amazing.

This is really money, the dust-fluff-stuff really makes this shot. The bright strip is a matter of personal preference. I find that my eyes detect more detail and focus better on the bird with just a slight reduction of what's at the top, maybe 5%. But again, personal preference, and I understand why you kept it.

Wonderful shot, Isaac. Good thinking to go for a somewhat different Burrowing Owl shot. When I do a bit of browser-scroll I come up with the same reaction as Dorian -- just a tad off the top concentrates the eye better on the bird.

Seen it this morning on my laptop and I thought nice image..Looking at it now on the iMac...Wow, great image...Well done Isaac its looking good.

Will

Hi Isaac, lovely rim lighting here, and I really like the warm light/colours. The flying fluff adds to the image, and well done on achieving this result.

That's absolutely fantastic with this backlighting, Isaac.