Short-eared Owl in the Dewey Grass

[Jeff Dyck]

I had to head into Winnipeg this past Saturday, so I planned to spend the Saturday evening / Sunday morning shooting in Oak Hammock Marsh. August is always a great time to photograph the newly fledged Short-eared Owls out learning to hunt in the tall grass prairie area of the marsh. Saturday night did not disappoint and I was able to watch and photograph ~a dozen owls in the last 45 minutes before sunset. Sunday morning started with a less-than-stellar sunrise as clouds on the distant eastern horizon obscurred the light for the first half-hour after sunrise, but I spotted this beautiful lady on the grassy shoulder of the road just after the sun started to peak out. I then had to belly crawl a considerable distance through the dewey grass (getting completely soaked!) to get within full-frame shooting range. This owl was a great subject and sat for a good 5 minutes for me before deciding to move on.

What I really like about this image is the owl's surroundings - the bird is actually sitting in the shadow of small mound and the mixed colour temperatures on the green grass made for an interesting final result.

Canon 1DIV -- 800mm f/5.6L IS -- 1/400 @ f/5.6 -- ISO-800 -- Av Mode @ +1 EV -- Handheld

[Nancy Bell]

This is outstanding! The owl has a wonderful full-faced and open-eyed look straight at you, all in sharp detail. The soft pastels of the bkgd with gently OOF bits of dewy grasses frame the owl beautifully. And the entire image is graced with softly glowing early light. It was very well worth crawling and getting wet!

[Jack Breakfast]

Oh yes indeed, and you said it. The owl is beautiful, as s.e. owls are, but it's the light and the background and owl's environment that sets this shot apart. Excellent work, I say! E for effort and an A+ all around!

[Ken Watkins]

Jeff,

Oh my what to say?

Just too good, I love it

[Tony Whitehead]

Excellent result, Jeff. I love the sharp focus and direct eye contact. My only suggestion would be to darken the 2 pale areas at the very top edge of the frame to match the remainder of the BG - here's a quick version using content aware fill.

[christopher galeski]

Beautiful image,magic colors,nice light,certainly made eye contact,Tonys post as helped the BG.well done.

[Tom Rambaut]

Like the setting and the direct eye contact - the foreground OOF grass make this work for me. TFS

[Dumay de Boulle]

Amazing IQ and I love those eye's...I like Tony's suggestion adn I would like to see more room on the top...But thats it...Great image!

[Melissa Groo]

This is a stunningly beautiful SOE owl portrait. The colors, the low angle, the intense stare and that soft light all make for just a superb image.
This made me want to get in my car and drive to Winnipeg instantly!

[Randy Stout]

Jeff:

Nice blending of an environmental shot with a portrait, works very well together. Just a very nice feel to it, as well as the the tech. quality
I do think the slight tweak by Tony helps polish it a bit.
Well captured.

Cheers

Randy

[Frank Schauf]

Beautiful portrait, great details and eye contact, Jeff.

[Doug Brown]

Beautiful frame Jeff! I do prefer the repost, but OP is pretty darn good too!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jeff, great eye contact, and just love the light and pastel colours of the BG.

[gail bisson]

A beautiful image. I absolutely love the BG colors and the light. One for the wall I think!
Congrats on a superb shot,
Gail

[Jim Crosswell]

Beautiful image Jeff! I like the eye contact, light, OOF grass, and BG. Repost improves an already great image.

[Giuseppe Varano]

Beautiful owl and amazing image.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent eye contact and display of habitat