Barn Owl

[Jonathan Ashton]

Canon 20D canon 500mm f4 LIS & 1.4TC1 ISO 400 1/2000 sec f5.6
This was a shot I took way back in 2008 and it could well be the owl that I photographed earlier this year as both have a ring on the leg. I was just curious to see the result, after processing with CS6 and Topaz Denoise 5. It is quite a crop, the original 20D file was 3504px x 2336px and it was cropped to 1718px 2290px before processing for the web site.
Your comments are most welcome, good bad or indifferent.

[Shawn Zierman]

The light quality is sublime. I like the split background giving context to the owl's elevation.
Frankly, I enjoy every aspect of the image except for the light bits at the very bottom of the
frame. A consideration could be to either darken those up or crop them out. The brightness
pulls the eye ever so slightly...

[Grace Scalzo]

It is certainly unconventional in terms of lighting, but has a wonderful feel to it. I like the light shining through the wings, and that makes up for the lack of lighting on the face. Nicely seen.

[Marina Scarr]

I clicked on this thumbnail with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised by a truly unique image. The light through the wings works well and the wings have a delicate feel.

[gareth thomson]

Straight to the Tate w/ this very painterly image. Seriously, I love the light and the oof areas. Agree w/ Shawn about the bright bits at bottom. (gt)

[Jon Rista]

Absolutely love those wings! Great angle on the bird. I think the background is great as well, although I agree with @Shawn about the light parts along the bottom edge.

[Bill Dix]

Almost any owl in flight is a winner in my book, and this is no exception. It is unique, with no eye contact but an interesting hunting pose. Love the light through the wings. Agree about the bottom edge.

[gail bisson]

I have looked at this a few times.
The light is beautiful-looks like the light you see in Raphael's paintings.
I like the wingspread. I do miss seeing a bit of the eye though,
Gail

[Diane Miller]

Lovely, artistic image, and the quality of the OOF BG is wonderful!

The lighter parts at the bottom do pull the eye but they hint at something lovely down there. I wonder if it would be good with less crop there? Or I'd even experiment with lightening more along the bottom, maybe the bottom 1/3 or so of the trees in the left half. Might not work, but worth thinking about.

[Nico Steenberg]

Well exposed and sharp detail captured !

[Karl Egressy]

Great hunting pose captured very nicely, Jonathan.

[Robert Holguin]

Very nice shot. Love the lighting, great wing position, and wonderful background.
Well done.