I Believe I can Fly

[Troy Lim]

This owlet, the runt, is starting to fly from oak tree branch to another and this is his favorite one. Shooting under the oak trees is a challenge with uneven lighting. The property owner has trimmed some branches and I have cloned out the bottom of the branch near the left side of the frame.
1/1000, f/4, ISO5000, no flash.

[James Shadle]

Troy,
You handled a difficult exposure very well.
Beautiful subject , sharp and well exposed.
The wings lifted add an extra element of interest.

I also like the composition, your placement in the frame of subject and perch.
IMO, this same composition with the owl looking towards you would put it over the top!

[Troy Lim]

Thank you James, I will look for one with eye contact later tonight.

[Marina Scarr]

Love this. Super pose and lovely BG. Wish for a little less space on the bottom and you have a pretty strong yellow cast.

[Lorant Voros]

Way too cute. I can't wait to see the next frame with the eye contact. I'd crop it from the bottom of the perch. Well done.

[Len Modderman]

Fantastic capture, well composed, love the background and cropping a little off the bottom would improve it.

[Michael Libbe]

Wonderful image, Troy! Better eye contact would certainly improve the image, but overall, very nice!

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I just wanna take this little guy home. I'd settle for a little squeeze LOL. I love thos big eyes and the downy fluff and the wings up. Lucky you to have this photo op.

[Loi Nguyen]

Troy, so cute and the title says it all. Love those big round eyes and the up raised wing position. Nice perch. I think you handle the exposure and noise very well. The only suggestion I may add is perhaps darkening the BG will improve this image. Loi

[Troy Lim]

Thank you all for the suggestion. I would love to have one as a pet too but it is illegal. Plus I don't like rodents. :)

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Troy, nicely done! I do agree with seeing a pretty strong yellow/green cast. It was noticeable in the thumbnail too. Easy fix though.