Snowy owl in blowing sand

[Grace Scalzo]

I found this snowy owl a few weeks ago out toward the east end of Long Island. I had searched for several hours both on foot and in my car, 40 mph sustained winds, gusting to 60. Finally found this beauty hunkered down in a dune, car as blind. (Shouldn't have worked so hard ) The background "cloud" is blowing sand. I purposefully did not run any noise reduction or try to reduce the grain, as that is part of my presentation of the scene.

Thank you.

1/320, f8, iso3200
Canon 1Dx, 600 f4 + 2.0tc + car as blind + blubb

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Grace,

A very nice environmental photo. I might take a look at different crop version (not saying that a pano would be "better", but I'd give it a shot).

Not a huge fan of the branch on the right, but also don't think it detracts from the image enough to try a clone.

Miguel

[Richard Unsworth]

Love the whole idea/concept - its a wonderful image of nature. The blowing dust is ace. I think it would lose that "power" if panoed.

[keith mitchell]

Grace I would not change a thing if it was mine(no such luck) I love every thing about it, really does tell a story.

Keith.

[Karl Egressy]

This is a very pleasing image, Grace. I love the showing of the habitat.

[dankearl]

I like the look and the BG. lovely color and it certainly is hunkered down.
I, too am on the fence about the larger shrub...

[Bob Pelkey]

Beautiful capture. I too like the idea of a pano crop. Removing the top half of the image is appealing to me. Leave the vegetation.

[Grace Scalzo]

Thanks, but turning this into a pano ruins the story. The sand cloud is as important to me as the owl.

[christopher galeski]

nice image Grace,like as is,BG is magic.TFS.

[gail bisson]

You shot this from the car!! You are killing me with your ability to find these guys. No issues with techs and IQ.
I am on the fence about this one. I respect your choice of composition and where you placed the owl in the frame, but have to say that I would personally take a sliver ( 5%) off the top.
I like the muted colors and the pop of white color from the owl. I really like the FG vegetation and can see a version with the stalk removed which may give the image a pano feel without actually going pano.
I also wonder if there is a bit of a magenta cast in the BG- but you were there, so I defer to your view,
Gail

[Shawn Zierman]

What I like about the image is how well the owl shows against the generally darker surroundings. I dig the goldenrod or whatever those two taller flowers are because they keep my eye busy in good way. I don't think a pano crop ruins the story, because without your explaining what was going on in the background, it just seems like digitized texture. Mostly because there does not appear to be any "sand" blowing in front of the owl, and the vegetation is small enough, that there does not appear to be much of anything blowing at all.

[Bill Dix]

Very evocative shot. The owl pops out nicely in the stormy environment. I think Shawn has a point that one can't really tell it's blowing sand, but I like the overall feeling.

[Grace Scalzo]

I knew that this would spark conversation, which is a good thing. I also know that I can be a bit stubborn when I feel strongly about my work. Even if you can't tell that it's blowing sand, there's a shape to it, which I am loathe to ruin by panoing, or trimming from the top. But I respect your thoughts....this might be one that I enjoy more than others do. And Gail, the dunes take on a magenta cast when in shadow. If you note, there is no magenta on the owl. Always fun sharing things that are not typical and seeing the reactions!

[Sandy Witvoet]

Don't change the comp. I see no magenta on the owl... just the tiniest bit darkish on "his" right side. Love the "mottle-ish" bg. Might be a bit of noise going on.... but that's ok. A wonderfully somewhat different Snowy image...I'd so LOVE to just find it, much less photograph. Most excellent work.

[Enrique Patino]

not typical, yes. It catches my attention... and generates discussion... great! If it was mine I would see about bringing up more detail on the highlights of the bird, even if small in the frame. But overall a great image...

[Greg Oakley]

Love it as is Grace. Agree that a pano just wouldn't work here and the "grungy" sand in the BG really adds to the lovely mood here - nice work!

[David Salem]

What a cold rugged looking shot Grace. I like the comp as is and the plant is ok with me too. The blowing sand is a big part of the image for you, and I understand why, but to the average viewer it looks like noise in the darker bg.
Nice job getting close to this Owl.

[Marina Scarr]

This image is really growing on me, Grace. First of all, I love the vegetation which you have included b/c it helps to anchor the image. I find the dappled BG quite unique. The owl is calm and really stands out in this environment. I tried various crops but find yours to be the best.

I did try a few pano crops, and I have to admit that although it is a completely different image, I do like it. You can get 2 super images out of this one!