Owl & a Myna

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

I was photographing this little owl at a local park, the angle was steep and foliage between me and the hole where the owl was perched made it difficult to get a good shot. As I was trying to get a good position I saw this Myna settle in front of the owl distracting the little fellow. I took this pic and I liked the stare the owl gave, hence sharing with you. It is difficult to find owls in the city and i was quiet happy to see this guy at a park nearby.

Camera	Canon EOS 7D
Exposure	0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	400 mm
ISO Speed	800
Exposure Bias	0 EV

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Sanjeev,

You did a nice job explaining this shot, it is what it is and I am alright with that. I love these guys and would have taken the shoot too. The opportunity here is to tighten up the crop (especially the top and RHS) and more focus on the subject and those eyes - thats the story here. You know my paper on the screen drill right (if not PM me), play with crop options and see if you can strengthen the image - keep em coming!!!

ps - nice job setting the exposure to control the whites and using a higher ISO to support the low light and a higher shutter - parks are known for mixed light - well done.

[WIlliam Maroldo]

You did well on the sharpness and exposure of the owl. The out of focus bird in no way adds to the image, and other OOF foreground elements, including branches, should usually be avoided. IMO if branches are unavoidably blocking part of your subject(which in this case I think is the owl/tree,) it is best to have them well focused as well. This is much more acceptable to the viewer as part of the environment than a blur obscuring the subjects. regards~Bill

[Jeannean Ryman]

Very cool looking owl! I agree with Bill about playing with different crops. I also would have taken a clearer pic of they myna if possible, and tried "stacking" them for increased DOF (I do this in macro shots fairly often, so figured it might work here too...maybe not. :)

[Kerry Perkins]

Sanjeev, thank you for sharing the story of the image. I understand why you took the shot, but let's look at it from a technical point of view. The eye is used to seeing OOF objects in the distance, but much less forgiving when they are in the foreground. As Bill notes, even OOF foliage in the foreground should be avoided. In this image, my eye keeps going to the mynah because it is closer to me and then back to the owl because the mynah is not in focus. Even if it were, the two subjects have no relationship in the scene and are therefore in conflict visually. I agree with Jeff about the crop and think this image could be made much stronger with a tight vertical crop and cloning out what is left of the mynah.