Great Grey Owl in the spotlight

Hi all,

This is a Great Grey Owl from two mornings ago. I had one of those photographic days which I will remember for a long time. I got up at 4AM and drove two hours to a spot where I had seen just one report of the owl one week earlier. I came to the clearing in the forest just as the sun started to rise but the clearing was still very dark. I searched for about twenty minutes before I started thinking about walking around the path further down the clearing, just then I saw a large shadow lifting from the ground and the owl perching in a pine. What a feeling! I spent three hours with this bird all alone and saw it catch two voles. I got this shot when the first light hit the favorite hunting posts and the backgrounding forest was still in deep shadows. I don't think I would have liked the light if it wasn't for those tiny bits of green in the background but now, I think it works. Do you think I should lift the shadows even more? I'll be back there later in the week!

All comments welcome!

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV | Canon 500mm f/4.0 L IS USM II | ISO640 | 1/1000s | f/5.6

Ivan:

Beautiful bird, love the eyes and facial disk. Well sharpened.

I certainly would try with the shadows in the background lifted a bit more, to give a greater sense of depth. I have two thoughts about the perch. Because of the very dark background, it is quite prominent , so you could consider toning down the luminosity a bit and also consider cropping up a bit from the bottom to reduce its impact in the frame. Purely a matter of personal taste, but something to consider.

Glad you had a great day!

Cheers

Randy

Love the stare! good details ans exposure I would crop it a bit tighter. agree with raising the BG shadows a bit to bring out some texture but it aint bad as is

TFS

What a dramatic photo.
So happy you had such a wonderful encounter and you made the most of it. I have a feeling I will be enjoying the images to come.
I love the dark BG as is but agree on reducing the luminosity of the perch or even better crop in from the bottom to eliminate some of the perch.
Owl looks fantastic and that direct gaze is killer
Gail

Hi Ivan, beautiful bird, nicely shown. Love the stare. I am sure a memory of time spent with this bird that you will keep forever. I agree maybe a tad less perch and a tighter crop. Thank you for sharing.

Looks great Ivan, you could experiment with the background but I do like it as is. I would have certainly toned down the post , the owl looks spot on.

What a wonderful experience, alone in the woods with this magnificent creature. I look forward to more images of this encounter. As for this one, yes to a bit of crop up from the bottom, cropping the perch maybe 25% or so; pinching in the sides a little to prevent a squarish format; and maybe lifting the BG a tad but not if it raises noise or posterization. All of the above are, IMO, relatively nit-picking. I would be stoked to have this reminder of such a great encounter.

What a beauty. I would love to see the background even darker. The owl stands out in that light. I like the framing as is.

Beauty of a shot Ivan, everything about the owl is good to my eyes. I agree with Jon about lowering the highlights on the perch, otherwise all good

Mike

Would be a lifer for me, never seen one, this is excellent.

I love the comp as is, therefore for my tastes I would not crop. I agree about slightly darkening the perch. BG is perfect as is. I would add some saturation and/or warm up the WB. Congrats on the very neat sighting, and looking forward to more of this individual!