Who's calling

[Mack Hicks]

Was drinking my morning coffee last Saturday and heard an owl pair calling. One was very close and I saw one of the pair in a distant tree outlined against the predawn sky. I set up my Ibird caller and they were talking to me as well as each other. Took a few frames with the one bird and as I added a TC, the other landed on an adjacent branch. They were about 400 feet away. Tried to get a little closer, but they saw me sneaking through the brush and flushed.

D800 Nikon 600 f/4 VRII with 1.7 tc 1/60 f/6.7 ISO 3200

PP in LR4 with Dfine 2.0 then Silver Ex Pro 2

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Mack, I like the high-key silhouette you've got here and especially the two owls together. I'm OK with the bushes on the left edge but I think I'd remove the twigs on the bottom edge in the middle and also would probably remove the stick coming out of the left owl's right ear. I hope to see more of your images in OOTB!

[Dennis Bishop]

This is a very nice silhouette with wonderful negative space. I really like the branches on the left because of the way they curve toward the owl on that side and start a flow that leads the eye to the other owl. In my own images, I tend to keep extraneous elements like the branches on the bottom, so they don't bother me, although I did stop and think about it before reading Cheryl's comments. I also wondered about the branch extending from the owl's ear. After some debate, I decided I'd not remove it. I like those nearly vertical branches. Not only that, but a long time ago a graphic artist taught me to squint when I look at things. It takes away the details and gives an impression of the overall form and balance. When I did that, I liked how the branch worked with the rest of the image and how it followed the line of the line of the right side of the owl.

I like your title, too.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Mack (that's my middle name!), I like the silhouette and the serene mood of the image. For my eye, I would evict the branches on the left and definitely the one coming out of the left owl's ear. To me it takes away from the familiar outline of an owl and looks like an antenna. Nice job!

[Nancy Bell]

Love the owl silhouettes with their distinctive ear tufts. I also like that they show different views. I am of the camp that would evict the branches on the left, the one coming out of the owl's ear and the small ones on the bottom. For me that would make a strong, minimalist graphic. The remaining two branches have a graceful sweep encouraging your eye to sweep up through the image.

[Paul Lagasi]

Good advice above, sweet birds. In Eastern Ontario the Great Horned Owl is one of the harder Owls to find. Nice work