Great Gray Owl Banking

Here's one from a trip to Minnesota last month, I was thrilled to get to see and photograph these incredible birds at close range. They really are some of the most amazing birds to observe in their habitat. Taken with my Sony a9 and 200-600mm at 500mm f/6.3 1/4000sec ISO 800. Processed in ACR and Photoshop with slight noise reduction done via Topaz Denoise AI. The nictitaing membrane in its left eye was half open so I did some cloning to fix that, didn't really hurt the shot that much in my opinion but I like it better without. Hope you enjoy it, thanks for looking.

Amazing shot, Anthony! The snow, the background and the detail on the bird are something else! I like the wing position as well. I'd loosen the crop as I find the bird slightly cramped, particularly at the top and bottom of the frame. The snow on the face is a nice detail. TFS!

Great banking pose and eye contact. Falling snow and tree BG are great. Was this baited? If not, incredible to get this pose. I agree the bird is a bit cramped as is and would also loosen the crop. Looking forward to more from MN and your thoughts on other images as well. TFS,

Nope not baited, I'm really against that practice and wouldn't be proud of a shot where the bird was. Appreciate the feedback from you and Aditya, I'll give that a try regarding the crop. Thanks!

Wow that's impressive, I too think a little large in the frame but that is a super shot.
Glad, really glad he wasn't baited, a pal of mine went to Canada to photograph snowy owls, they looked great until he told me they were baited with live mice, he said he wished they weren't, I told him I wish he hadn't taken the images, I am really surprised that this practice still goes one.

Hi Anthony, great eye contact here, and you have nailed the banking angle. I like the habitat with the falling snow, and agree that more space top and bottom wont harm the image. Please remember to share your views on other images as well.

Pretty in your face shot!! Amazing you got such a great look at one.
I would be ecstatic over this, tight crop and all.

Love the pose and the snow. Yes to being a little tight in the frame. I would love to see one someday let alone photograph one. Nice one.

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Originally Posted by Jonathan Ashton

Wow that's impressive, I too think a little large in the frame but that is a super shot.
Glad, really glad he wasn't baited, a pal of mine went to Canada to photograph snowy owls, they looked great until he told me they were baited with live mice, he said he wished they weren't, I told him I wish he hadn't taken the images, I am really surprised that this practice still goes one.

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It is really unfortunate how people disrespect these birds for the sake of getting a photo that you can almost always tell was baited if you know what to look for. They're magnificent animals and I hope anyone who truly appreciates that gets the opportunity to see some in the wild.

Yea, this is outstanding. I'm a stickler for clean backgrounds but the blurred trees are absolutely perfect here. I can't see your eye work, so that's good news, and i love the head angle and intensity. A really awesome frame.

The only time I shot these was under baited circumstances. I drove from Boston to Ottawa hoping to see/shoot these guys, but 50 other people showed up at that stakeout and it was total chaos. I'd never even heard of baiting
at that very early stage of my photo career, but people were throwing out mice in every direction and it was a zoo (there were 4 owls). I shot the birds since I'd made the 7 hour drive, but I'm not proud of the resulting photos and would love another crack at this amazing bird.