I prefer to see a bird isolated from the background and I guess most people is fond to this kind of image. In the last days I have been facing many obstacles in this approach. I recently visit the highlads of Cerro de la Muerte in the central and hightest parts of Costa Rica in search of the Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl and I was lucky since I was able to find it but it was very very far away and not even with 840mm I could feel the frame with it! So that's why this time I will settle with a bird and his habitat, as you can see it is very well comouflaged surrounded by lichens and moss. You can tell how high I was in my country since Costa Rica is so tropical.
Image taken at 3400 mts above the sea level.
840mm@f/10+MarkIV+ISO2500+ss1/160sec. PS and large crop.
Thanks for your input and comments.
I absolutely love this habitat shot, Juan Carlos. It shows off the camo aspect of the bird so beautifully, and gives such a wonderful sense of place. All those textures and colors are very interesting. I think this is a really special capture.
I might sharpen the owl's eyes just a bit. I'd also be interested to see how it would look if you rotated it a bit clockwise so the bird's eyes are more levelled.
He is so cute! I think it is quite interesting to see this species in its habitat. It's a busy habitat, but I love the different colors of the moss (?) living on the big tree. You handled the exposure well here. As for the owl, it is a bit soft, so may be another round of sharpening would help. Loi
I think that this is a spectacular habitat shot Juan! The moss and lichens are awesome and the little owl still stands out. I think I would select the owl and sharpen him just a tad more and see how that looks. Great image!
Oh I like this alot!! Great habitat, and the owl is sized perfectly in the frame for this image. I agree owl looks looks a tad soft as posted, and I'd perhaps selectively add contrast to it too...but this is indeed a special image. Well done!
Totally works for me, Juan Carlos. I love birds with habitat. You mentioned a large crop, and I wonder what the full-frame would look like. Having the owl even smaller in the frame and showing more of that beautiful high-altitude habitat might be even better (depends on what else was around of course!).
Like it a lot, as mentioned above great to see him in habitat and so well camouflaged. Some birds are best like this and not perched out in the open as most shots seem to be. A bit more sharpening on the bird may help.
Costa Rican Pymy-Owl
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