Snowy Owl - 5 Frame Panorama, also with "Before & After"

EOS 40D, 70-200/2.8 at ~190mm
1/4000, f/5, ISO 400, handheld, manual exposure metered on snow, and confirmed on histogram
baited

Snowy Owl - 5 Frame Panorama, also with "Before & After"

Image of Snowy Owl photographed last month in Quebec Canada. 5 images stitched together to create this panorama illustration of a Snowy Owl capturing prey.

Narrow f/5 depth of field, but panorama illustration gives an illusion of a very wide depth of field. I had a terrible time blending the sky. My theory (even using all manual mode) ... maybe the very cold temperatures had an affect on the 40D's slightly variable shutter speed precision, thus caused slight exposure difference between frames.

I "flipped" the image as I liked the counter-clockwise flow from the left ... and how it circled back inside.

Thank you for looking, and your suggestions are always appreciated.

I hope I can add 2 images to this post.

This "before" image is ~1:1 crop of one of the original image used to create the panorama illustration. I like the concentration and the talons at the moment just before the capture. I'm not crazy about the merge between the wing and the horizon.

Thank you for looking, and your suggestions are always appreciated.

Wow Brian, I really like this a lot. I think you did a fine job on the sky and I love the exposure.

Hey Brian, Merge doesn't bother me at all...Great job on this!

Brian, Looks great-Love the action!!

I'm likeing this progression also.. well done on the stich.
Lou

OUTSTANDING! Great image, great work, terrific in every aspect! Light, poses, exposure, detail, moment, comp, all is more than A+
Congratulations!

I really like what you did here Brian. The sequence really tells a story!

Excellent pp work on the stitching Brian, and what a great sighting.

Image has a great flow to it and the flip of his flight pattern works well. Not sure what caused the shifts in luminosity in the sky, but more work on it could smooth it out. Nicely envisioned before the shoot.

Superb idea well executed! Lovely exposure and detail!
Well done!