That look

[Steve Kaluski]

Taken as the three owlets began to let their curiosity get the better of them, as they started to explore this bright new world of theirs. A bit of a gamble and it did take some time to get this shot, lying in this vast bed of nettles for many, many hours, even nodding off one or twice, but for me, getting at eye level with your subject makes a big difference, just my take. The other two owlets stayed up in the old Willow tree, however this one came down to investigate, as the owlet focused in you could physically see the pupils getting bigger & bigger, almost to the size of dinner plates . Don't be fooled by the blue sky creeping in, the techs are right.

Steve

Subject: Little owl, owlet (Athene noctua)
Location: UK
Camera: Canon 1DX
Lens: 500f/4 Wimberley head & Gitzo tripod
Exposure: 1/125s at f/5.6 ISO2500 +0.67 stop compensation

[Richard Unsworth]

A real beauty Steve.
Amazing eyes

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice pose and details and great inclusion of habitat

[gail bisson]

Those eyes!! Love them.
Terrific low POV . Makes me feel like I am "with" the owl.
Your usual good IQ. Well chosen composition.I like the reflection in the pupils as well.
If I had one wish, it would be that the OOF grass did not intersect with the body.
gail

[christopher galeski]

nice image,if looks could kill,some nice details,love the eyes.thanks.

[Holger Leyrer]

Beautiful image. I like the pose, habitat, exposure and the cold colors. The eye contact is great

[Grace Scalzo]

Wonderful close up. You really got us into the world of this youngster with your shooting angle. Very well done and excellent inclusion of habitat.

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks folks, you won't get them this close now once their skill set kicks in.

Arash I'm very envious of the light you have with yours, some of us dream of shooting below 800.

[Marina Scarr]

You did a great job making this owl really stand out, and I like the inclusion of the habitat. Wonderful details in your owlet, and I like him against all that green

[keith mitchell]

Steve certainly giving you the eye! Nice to see in that vegetation spot on sharp and very detailed, great looking image.

Keith.

[John Robinson]

Steve
Certainly an unusual LO shot .Looks sharper arond the beak area but obviosley the DOF has gone off lower down. Bright on my monitor - but not set up recently.
JR

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Steve, great eye contact, and well positioned to capture this at eye level too. I like the framing of the foliage, and your patience paid off nicely.

[Shawn Zierman]

Lovely image. Strong low angle composition and love those huge dialated pupils. That bit of sky you were able to work into the background with your low angle work is awesome.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice shot Steve but I wonder about a tad more contrast?? WDYT

[Steve Kaluski]

Cheers folks glad you like it.

Keith all I wanted was the face pin sharp the rest can drift off, plus at those techs no chance of more DOF, however we could discuss hyperfocal distances.

Hi Jonathan, I shy away most of the time to adding Contrast, as it effects the blacks too much I find, especially in detail areas like around the eyes, so you need to be specific IMHO. I find a Channels/Levels/Curves layer works for Contrast, as I can be very specific in the Blacks & Whites, the combination works I find, but we all have preferred routes & choices, appreciate the RP.

[Arthur Morris]

Ditto all of the positives above. For my tastes, the bird is too light.... 15% Linear Burn on the bird only for the repost.