Lipsmackin, thirstquenchin, acetastin...

[Steve Kaluski]

Firstly many thanks to those of you posted a reply on the previous posting and in relation to the white 'droppings', everything was clear before the owlets arrived, I made sure of that. But you know what youngsters are like at that age, in at one end and straight out the other... so I tend now to leave it in the image unless it's easily removed.

Having removed an area of nettles, and then forked the area to uncover some bugs & beetles for them, this little fellow found a nice tasty earthwork, full of rich goodness & protein. I'm not sure if he is winking at me in thanks, or it's just a face of pleasure, WDYT? Originally I had it as a portrait format, as shot, but felt a closer crop worked better.

Steve
Subject: Little owlet eating an earthworm within a nettle patch (Athene noctua)
Location: UK
Camera: Canon 1DX
Lens: 500f/4
Exposure: 1/1600s at f/5.6 ISO2000 +0.67 stop compensation

[vishaljadhav]

Impressive facial expression captured here, thats what i like a lot about this one
Sharp where it needs to be, the worm adds a lot
colours look nice,
The OOF foreground is a bit overpowering to my eye in here, may be taking off a inch of the bottom may look interesting however its more of our eyes

[David Salem]

Good looking fun shot of this baby with its catch. Techs look good and lots of detail the closed eye is pretty funny. I agree about taking off a bit off the bottom to reduce the OOF foreground. Nice one.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Steve! I love shooting these little joys. I must have missed the other post and the droppings Sweet face and one eye closed tells the story of the wiggly worm. I love that you captured it in all those greens rather than the typical sandy lot

[Jamie Douglas]

Funny how it's just humans that seem to get stung by nettles. I like this as posted and find the foreground helps lead the eye into the image to that tasty looking wee wurim.

[Loi Nguyen]

Steve, you must have a lot of fun with these guys! Really sharp where it counts. I bet you could see your reflection in the eye. The worm looks quite tasty. I find the leaf on the right competing with the owl for my attention. I think taking a little bit of the right in a more traditional vertical format could work here too. Loi

[Girish Prahalad]

i would think his face reflects the taste of his meal. love the swishing prey & the contrasting visibility of the eyes.
the comp & the DOF works for me.

[Daniel Cadieux]

It definitely winked at you!! Unique image in that I don't recall seeing an owl eat a worm, pretty neat. I like the comp you chose and the FG does not bother me. Only the paler streak above the head could use a bit of attention IMO, and maybe overall a touch "cool" on the WB...unless that is what you were going for.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice image indeed Steve, I like it very much, super details and a magic pose - couldn't ask for more!

[Steve Kaluski]

Sorry guys for the late reply and thanks for taking the time to reply & view, however I been out firstly trying to find these guys as they have flown the nest, but am trying to work with one of the youngsters at present.

Daniel, I thend to work on getting a mid grey to define the WB, then it comes down to personal choice in direction of temp IMHO. It was taken towards 5.00pm on an overcast evening, so I think it looks OK, plus the nettles were not too green either, but always good to get other thoughts as we can sometimes overlook them when processing. I had to keep a high SS to ensure I catch something, these morsels disappear very quickly.

cheers
Steve