Great Horned Owlet

[Mike Veltri]

I had seen a few images posted on the net of a Great horned owlet, and not having this species decided to drive the three hours to see them. Upon arrival we were told by some locals that the last owlet fledged two days ago and they were gone. Knowing they were too small to fly, a friend and myself search the small forest looking for them. To our surprise we found one owlet low on a wood pile, another above, and Mom and Dad very close above as well. Wow were we thrilled to see this little one in the open, as we were thinking we might get lucky and see them in the nest cavity. Eventually it hopped down to another good perch on the wood pile then it hide as mom and dad were calling to it as it clicked away calling back. That's when we left as we did not want to stress it out, as we had some nice images.



Canon 1Dx - 500mm

1/1000s @ F/5 - ISO 400

Thanks for looking,

Mike Veltri

[PhilCook]

Another person trying to kill me with stunning Owl images LOL. The extra fine detail and sharpness in this is extraordinary, it's tight in the frame, but with this kind of quality I thinks that's ideal. I cant think of a single thing I would alter on this Mike, I've been viewing a lot of Owl images on here lately, all enviable, but I honestly find this one the most appealing of the lot...just stunning !

[Jonathan Ashton]

Absolutely first class, I also enjoyed the narrative.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

This is so good Mike. Glad that your effort paid off, super pose and composition. I like the subtle color tones and even BG. Well done.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the sharpness, feather detail, perch and complimentary BG. I would move the Owlet to the right of the frame and add a little up top but fine as presented. Excellent image Mike!

[James Shadle]

Mike,
What a beautiful animal!
Well exposed, tact sharp, great perch and background.
I like the subjects placement in the frame but feel a looser crop would make this an even stronger image.

What time of day did you create this image?

[Minh Insixiangmy]

He so fluffy !
Love the detail.

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely portrait, Mike. Great details in all of those crazy feathers and I like to se the one talon on the perch. A super pose. Would like to see a looser crop.

[Loi Nguyen]

Mike, lovely image, tack sharp, rich with details, creamy BG. The only thing I would wish for is a slight turn of the head to see more of the right eye of the owlet. Well done.

[Lyle Gruby]

Agree with above, great portrait. Agree that slightly looser crop could improve the image.

[vishaljadhav]

Those looks are amazing, owl images are always special for the eyes and this one is special too
i love the plumage , very good quality
love it

[Mike Veltri]

Thanks James for the comments, this was a full frame shot cropped to 8x10 so if I was to print it or something I would add canvas to the top. I do however have images that were cropped a bit less, but found myself editing this one. The time was about 12:30 to 1pm in the afternoon, not and ideal time to shoot and my flash was not with me.

Mike

[Mike Veltri]

Mike, lovely image, tack sharp, rich with details, creamy BG. The only thing I would wish for is a slight turn of the head to see more of the right eye of the owlet. Well done.

Thanks Loi, I actually have the owlet looking right at me. I have always thought that they look more natural when they are not looking directly at the camera. Also I might have to lighten the shadows on the top part of the eyes due to the time of day I was shooting at, with the sun too high above me.

Mike

[jack williamson]

Looser crop has been addressed, this is really an excellent image, excellent IQ and detail and the BG is awesome. Well done.

[Frank Schauf]

Beautiful portrait, great details and eye contact.

[christopher galeski]

its all been said,magic image,well done.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Oh man that was well worth your 3 hour drive! Fantastic IQ and you did well for the strong light. Love that talon...

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Mike, excellent detail, tack sharp, and just love the look back pose. The BG compliments the owl nicely. Another fine image from you.

[Satish Ranadive]

Absolutely marvelous image with fantastic details in feathers.Great colors,lights,expression of the owl and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Troy Lim]

Amazing shot again...looking at it for the second time, I agree with the looser crop.

[MohsenVahedipour]

What a great portrait. I like the tight crop, IQ, HA & BG.

[mohammad reza shahab]

I like the sharpness, feather detail, perch and BG.

[nick clayton]

I love the textures and colours of this owl’s plumage. The pose and beautiful eyes make for a beautiful image Mike.