Eastern Screech Owl

[Jim Crosswell]

This was taken in late spring down the street from my house. After years of looking into empty tree cavities I finally saw a face. I parked my vehicle near the tree on a different day and waited for him to pop his head out. All C&Cs are welcome and appreciated.

Canon 1D MK IV
500L f4
1.4 Extender
ISO 1000
f8
1/320s
Handheld with window support

* edited ISO to reflect correct value.

[Randy Stout]

Jim:

This is quite nice! He blends in amazingly well with the tree. The shapes around the hole frame him perfectly.

If time allowed, I would have pushed the ISO up sig. to allow greater DOF with smaller aperture.

Even with the slight blurring of the lower trunk, I prefer the comp. over a different crop with less trunk below.

Cheers

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jim, camouflage at its best. Excellent sharp detail on the owl's head, nicely framed around the roundness of the nest cavity, and the placement works well.

[Joe Senzatimore]

WOW. Just perfect camouflage. I'm fine with the comp. but would also try a square crop.

[Vivaldo Damilano]

Excellent Jim, love the way he blends into the tree, worth waiting for this shot. Lovely frame, good work.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Awesome sighting Jim! I love how snug the head is around the hole, pretty cool. This is one case where stopping down even more would have been interesting to see texture-wise on the tree as far camouflage goes but I certaiunly like it as is too. There is a very neat flow here, a reversed "S" line, from top left winding down to lower right...super!

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks for the comments. I made a typo ISO should be 1000 not 100. Sorry for the error.

[Robert Holguin]

Wow!!! Stunnig!!
I must of been hard to find it. It blends in so well with that trunk.
Excellent details and comp.
Very well done.

[nrohrbacker]

Great catch. I too am waiting to see an owl while peering into the tree cavities. Nice to know I have a few more years to go!! Nice detail and I agree that a square crop might look good too.

[Satish Ranadive]

Extremely beautiful image owl.Wonderfully camouflaged with tree colors and texture. Love the great details on owl's head, beautiful eyes and stare.
Composition is superb.I would like to see it in tight crop.

Regards,
Satish.

[Shawn Zierman]

Gorgeous image Jim. I enjoy the composition as is. One of the more snug looking openings I've seen this species photographed in. My imagination is thinking the way the bark is curved makes it look like the owl has closed a robe of bark in front of itself...

[gail bisson]

What a find JIM!
There are lots of good options for a crop on this image.
Personally, I would take some off the bottom because of the bit of blurryness . Wish you had more DOF to get that wonderful curved tree trunk in focus.
But, still loving this one. Talk about great camouflage. I have yet to see this owl IRL,
Gail

[Girish Prahalad]

beautiful image! love the setting. comp and details are excellent.

[shane shacaluga]

Great camouflage and a wonderful image!!

TFS

Does this remind anyone else of the scene in Rambo where he pops out of the mud?

[David Salem]

Very nice frame Jim. Very cryptic. One of the better Screech owl shots I have seen. Great techs and detail. Lots of comp options but I like it as presented. Well done and good job finding this guy.