Northern Saw-whet Owl

I found this tiny Owl during the Christmas time and it was my most beautiful present :S3:

C & c Welcome

Thanks

Merci beaucoup

canon 7D,1/25s f/8.0 at 300.0mm iso800, flash -1 1/3
Attachment 107125
Attachment 107129

What a fantastic capture...Love the intense look and I can see it has it's catch hidden under it's hairy talons...

Head looks sharp but unfortunately the back and tail isn't as sharp for f/8 and is lacking details...you did well with that shutter speed...and at ISO 800 for 7D this is very good in terms of noise...Flash surely did the job for you...

Wow, what a beautiful image. Seeing that bird truly was a wonderful gift. Thanks for sharing!

A very nice find and a beautiful bird.
I am also surprised at f8, you didn't get the back sharp, but the face is exquisite.

You may need to microadjust your lens to the body -- at f8 you should have enough DOF to hold at least the back. If may be backfocusing.
Did you run NR on the upper back feathers also?

This is a beautiful bird and one I would like to receive for Christmas. Did you crop it? I would like to see more space around the bird.

Beautiful shot and equally beautiful pose. Very adorable looking owl.

Julien:

A lovely present indeed. Eyes are riveting, prey a plus, pleasant BG. I do agree about the DOF issue, but certainly on first glance the eyes are so strong that the image works very well.

Good flash use.

If you have it, a little more room top and bottom would be great.

Don brings up a good point about the microadjustment issue.

You may be able to do another round of USM on the back and improve the apparent sharpness a bit.

Cheers

Randy

Salut Julien:

Vous avez eu de la chance avec ce hibou. Quel cadeau de Noel magnifique!

The head is nice and sharp. Love the wispy feathers showing up around the face. They add so much character. Would like to see more room all around this owl if you have it.

Belle prise Julien. It's a pity though that you cut the tail of the mouse.

It's a pity that the tail and the back of the Owl isn't sharp even if I used a good aperture (f/8).

I already made a microadjustment before this photo but I'm going to redo it.

Do you have any explanations?

Sorry for my english:w3