Gliding Great Gray Owl.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I'll have a tough time topping my previous post as far as visual impact goes, but I have a few more Great Grays to share for you. Here's one simply gliding by at low altitude, I liked the shadow cast on the snow....

Canon 7D + 100-400L @180mm, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/800s., f/5.6, ISO 1600 (histogram checked), handheld, natural light, cropped for comp, WB corrected (original too blue). Baited.

[Raymond Lee]

The last one sure has good visual impact, but this one is also very nice too. Nicely framed, love the background and the flurries, and again, amazing quality at ISO 1600.

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:


Nice sense of the environment, while not distracting from the main subject. What a great head/face they have. Sharp and well exposed. The near wing shows nice detail, wish the rear was up a bit more.

Really nice. good control of the noise for this camera at the elevated ISO>

Did you see them crashing into the snow looking for voles/mice under the snow?

Cheers

Randy

[dankearl]

If you had a better wing position, the IQ is better here than the other, IMO.
I think a bit more contrast would make it pop a bit more.
You really made the best of a very fortunate encounter, I think all of us are envious.
At 180mm, the Owl was very tame or you were invisible!

[Alison McCoy]

Incredible image. The owl is an amazing subject and I love the way the you caught it positioned in the clear snow field with the willows or whatever in the top of the photo. Stunning.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Superb shot Dan, Like it in every way! You have mastered the 7D+100-400!

[David Salem]

Another nice one. He sure is fixed on the bait with a focused stare. Techs look good and the owl is nice and sharp. The right BG and subject for ISO1600 on a 7D. Must have been a rush as he came in. Very well done.

[Karl Egressy]

This is an excellent BIF shot of this great species, Daniel. I like the OOF small trees in the background as well.

[Nick Palmieri]

I love this one. I am not bothered by the far wing position as it helps show that he is flying low over the snow. The BG looks great

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dan, apart from trying to top your previous post, you are going to struggle to top the overall sighting of this wonderful species, and the images that you have shared with us so far. As the Owl is gliding, Im fine with the wing position, and just love the overall detail on the Owl. The yellow eye pops so well, and I do like the hint of the yellow beak too. Very well captured Dan.

[Mark Itol]

Great image, Dan. Excellent detail and great sense of environment. I wish the other eye is visible.

I looked for your previous post and it's one **** of an image to top, indeed!

[David N Smith]

Incredible image Dan. Would love to get a shot like that.

David

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot!!!.
Terrific flight pose and low flying angle. I really like the trees in the background, exposed very well and excellent details.
Well done.

[Bob Malbon]

Well that is one sweet capture!

[Daniel Cadieux]

At 180mm, the Owl was very tame or you were invisible!

Thanks all!! Dan, many individuals of this species are very tolerant of people...letting you walk right up to them for full-frame images at lower focal lenghts. 500mms is certainly not a must to photograph GGOs.

[Sachin Saraf]

You are making best use of the opportunity Daniel...This is an excellent flight capture and love the BG with trees..

[Uri First]

excellent flight capture, loved the head proportions