Burrowing Owl

[David Salem]

Captured this last spring at my local owl spot. This is one of the babies and is my favorite individual from the 13 babies reared by four pair of owls. He is probably three weeks out of the burrow at the time of this capture.
He grew up from his first peek out of the burrow seeing me and my truck and became very comfortable with me. I hope he has babies this year himself. The parents ran off most of their young but Jr. is still there:)

1DMKIV---500mm---f7.1---ss1/1250---ISO400---Car as blind@ 8:15am---15%crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. Appreciated.

David

[James Fuller]

Nice exposure and light. I'm not sure if the crop works for me, but I've never been a square crop fan...so lets see what others think?

[PhilCook]

I guess there was a good reason the feet are not included, but would of liked to of seen him/her complete.

Aside from being an amputee the detail and looks great and such a big round eye.....I hereby name him/her Cyclops

[Nick Palmieri]

Cool pose, like the one eye look. Nice BG and good detail in the bird. Think I would either like to see the entire bird or go in tighter..chest up??? TFS

[Marina Scarr]

You have a nice pose on the owl here, and I like where you chose to cut showing the foot. However, I think this would work better as a true vertical with a little more on top and some off of the right. Colors all go well together and makes for a solid portrait.

[Dennis Zaebst]

I love these guys, their eyes are mesmerizing. From my experience trying to photograph these guys in Florida, often they are sitting down in a hole, and the burrow is surrounded by a mound of dirt and grass, making it difficult to get their feet and legs in the photo. Only if they fly up to a nearby perch (for which one can spend hours waiting) can one get a clean image of the entire bird including the feet. I presume the same applies in California. In Florida (Cape Coral) in January I spent about two and a half hours waiting for one owl to come a little way out of his burrow. The sun went down, it got dark, and the owl steadfastly refused to move. I finally gave up.

This shot is beautiful in IQ, BG, and light. My only wish would be to see both eyes. But then, owls do what owls do.

[Diane Miller]

I like the uniqueness of the Cyclops pose, and the poised foot makes the crop work well for me. Sure, sitting on a branch would have been better, but you work with what you're given.

[Robert Holguin]

Very nice shot.
I really like the pose. Especially the curled up foot.
Wonderful background, nice light, and excellent feather detail.
Very well done.

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the input.
Even though I have the whole owl imaged, I tried to crop it as a portrait. I tried cropping from about the chest up, as Nick mentioned,but I liked the detail in the foot so I cropped from there up. I knew it wouldnt be every ones cup of tea but I like to try different stuff.
Marina, I played with a vertical and I think you are right, the vertical looks better.

[gail bisson]

Hi David,
The light is beautiful and the colors rich and warm.
The vertical comp really strengthens the image.
IQ is awesome and I love the feather detail and the little foot HAS to be included in your final comp.
I have to agree I find myself wishing for the entire bird,
Gail

[Stu Bowie]

Hi David, exquisite light in this, and you have exposed the owl perfectly. You have brought out the detail and colours so well, and how is that BG to complement the owl too. Nothing wrong in trying different things, and leaving the raised foot in was the only way to go. I agree, coming in from the right has worked out better too. An opportunity well used.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the raised foot, details, sharpness, complimentary BG and composition of the repost. Excellent image David!

[Shawn Zierman]

I like the increased vertical composition of the repost. The colors are also much richer/warmer...which is better imo.
Composition looks good to me in regards to how you framed the owl. Image in pane#9 just feels more balanced.
Lucky you to have this frequent opportunity!

[Karl Egressy]

I also like the vertical better, David. Excellent portrait with nice details and complimentary background and a good story af the Owl family.

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments and suggestions. Appreciated