Boreal Owl

[Shawn Zierman]

Image made recently on the North Shore of Lake Superior on the Minnesota side.
Canon7d, Sigma50/500os, iso800, f9, 1/100, cloned out a few snowflakes that appeared
as oof highlights, adjusted contrast and saturation, selective NR to bg, selective USM to owl/perch. Full frame image.
Comments and critiques always welcome.
Regards,
Shawn Zierman.

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent in camera composition, Shawn. The bird pops and tsharp. I like the habitat very much.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Shawn, love the eye contact, and good sharpness and detail for your 'slow' ss. Good DOF on the little guy, and I kinda like the forest feel to the BG.

[arash_hazeghi]

what a cute owl! nice pose and details. I would crop this one a bit tighter. There is subtle magenta cast

[Dave Leroy]

Photo really has a nice Boreal feel to it. I really like the extended bg. and in camera composition.

[Loi Nguyen]

Shawn, great image of this beautiful bird. Glad to see a really nice photo taken with the sigma 50-500. Clearly the skills of the photographer had a lot to do with it. I wonder how this photo would look as a vertical crop.

[Satish Ranadive]

Shawn;
Fabulous image of owl in habitat,which has given very nice 3D effect in the frame.
Love the cute owl and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Shawn Zierman]

Thanks for the excellent feedback. Arash, feel free to crop a tighter version and post...I'm having difficulty envisioning it. Also, what step would you take to correct the subtle magenta cast?
Loi, I have a difficult time seeing the possibility of a vertical comp. here, primarily due to the strong presence of the bg branch that suggests a horizontal presentation. Regardless, feel free to crop what you are envisioning and put it up for consideration.
Thanks again.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Love the forest feel here, and I'm OK with the comp and size of the bird in the frame for this particular image. I really like the white specks on the forehead! I'll trade you a GGO for one of these...please?

[David Salem]

Very nice capture and I like the feel to the whole scene. The branch he is sitting on with the bark exposed adds another element to the shot that I like.
Exposure and details are beautiful and the subject pops off the screen nicely. I like the BG with the branch cutting across the back and the fact that it is not touching the owl. I lilke the comp as is as it gives the viewer the right amount of both subject and the environment.
Nice work

[Tim King]

I like the pose and open eyes, and the BG gives me a sense of habitat. I know these dudes don't pick the best perches but a fixed limb would have made me jump out of my seat. Fine job as usual.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the setting, exposure, eye contact and composition. Very well done Shawn!

[dankearl]

Sorry I am late for this.
Terrific image, light is nice, Owl and perch is top notch.
I might take a bit off the left, but that is it.
I am envious at your opportunity, A beautiful little Owl and a superb setting!