Great Gray Owl: Up Close & Personal

[Doug Brown]

Selecting the appropriate focal length can be a bit of a challenge with Great Gray Owls. They are large birds with no fear of humans, so they can get very close to you at times. They start out small in the frame but get large very quickly. With this in mind, I purchased the 70-200 2.8 II especially for my trip to Canada. Unfortunately, I got so excited when this GGO flew in close that I forgot to zoom out! . The result was some serious clipping! I'm wondering what you all think of this crop?

Canon 1Dx, 70-200 f/2.8 II @ 200mm, f/9, 1/640, ISO 2000, manual exposure, hand held, baited

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Doug - so tough in the heat of the moment of a really good sighting to remember everything. The eyes and the face on this are so fabulous that I might consider going tighter to a pano to really emphasize them and also play down the clipping as a mistake. It looks good as a screen crop just below the outstretched wing. Just a thought.

TFS,
Rachel

[nick clayton]

To be honest I cant decide whether I like the crop or not Doug. What I do like is the fact that the beautiful face is the only part which is sharp and this concentrates the eyes to the face and ultimately to those gorgeous eyes.

[vishaljadhav]

Wow , i love the image
The approach is so nicely captured here, the face being so nicely focused its super
Love it

[Marina Scarr]

This particular crop isn't working for me, Doug. Love the face and the snow, though. Maybe you can rework it from the original.

I had to chuckle when I saw you forgot to zoom out. I did the exact same thing on a super shoot right with baby American Oystercatchers right after getting my 100-400 and forgot that I was using a zoom. I had to do a lot more cropping. Every once in a while I still forget.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

The up close and intimate look at the face is great, Doug, and I love the blood stained beak. But to be honest, the crop isn't working for me, although the more I stare at it the more it's growing on me...

[Doug Brown]

Hi Doug - so tough in the heat of the moment of a really good sighting to remember everything. The eyes and the face on this are so fabulous that I might consider going tighter to a pano to really emphasize them and also play down the clipping as a mistake. It looks good as a screen crop just below the outstretched wing. Just a thought.

Thanks Rachel. How does this crop work?

[Marina Scarr]

Would you mind posting your full frame capture, Doug? I think it would help us all visualize what might work best.

[Doug Brown]

Here's the full frame shot. The owl doesn't fill the frame with the wings down, but in the next image in the sequence the bird clips both sides of the frame.

[Loi Nguyen]

Doug, I like the full frame best as it shows the snow and the forest behind. The tiny bit of ing clip does not bother me. Sure, in a perfect world.., but this is a great image as is.

[Katie Rupp]

Doug,

Love the repost; has more drama--makes me feel like I should duck before that GGO flies right into my face.

Regards,

Katie

[Randy Stout]

Doug:

I rather like the original crop. I think it gives a sense of surprise, just popping into the frame from the side. So much a matter of personal taste, but the OP is effective for me.

Cheers

Randy

[Rachel Hollander]

Doug - I might not have gone as tight on top but that was sort of where I was suggesting you go. It's a tough one and ultimately, you're the one who has to be happy with the comp.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot!!!
For me personally I like repost in pane 7. Its more of a in your face shot.
Excellent details and love the stare.
Very well done.

[christopher galeski]

I like the original crop,I like the blured movement and then the magic sharp face,well done and thanks.

[Daniel Cadieux]

That is a tough dilemma you have for this particular image. I've had some clipped wings with this species, even though being used to a zoom, some with amazing poses that just broke my heart seeing the missing wing tips! Techs are good...I hope you had a good impression of that lens. For me this particular frame may have taken a back seat until the better ones were processed. The OP would be better if it was less tucked to the right IMO...

[Marina Scarr]

I have tried cropping this image all different ways and it just doesn't seem to pop. If I were in your shoes, I would move on to the next of my many amazing images.

[Doug Brown]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback!