Shady Long-Eared Owl

[Steve Large]

Hi Everyone,
I made my third trip this year over to Boundary Bay near Ladner B.C. Got some fairly unobstructed images of the long-eared owls in the hedgerow there. Kind of a busy place on a Sunday later in the morning and almost got my feet run over several times by bicycles as I positioned myself for this shot.

Stats: EOS-1D Mark4, 70-200mm IS2 lens at 200mm, ISO800, F/8, 1/400sec

Thanks for your comments on this one,

Steve

[Henry Domke]

You faced a lot of challenges here.
It's hard to photograph birds when they are perched in a thicket of lichen covered branches. It's also hard to get proper lighting on the subject when the background is brightly lit and the subject is in shadow. But you pulled it off and it works well.

The bright green-gold background is very appealing even if it is busy.

The subject would stand out better if it were brighter. To show you what I mean I opened the file in Photoshop and brightened it using an adjustment layer. Using the Quick Selection tool I did a rough selection of the bird. Then I inverted the selection and filled the adjustment layer mask with black.

The blurred feathers in the upper chest confuse me. Was it fluffing it's feathers?

[Bill Dix]

What a great look at this LEOW. Around here they are very easily spooked; I've only gotten the briefest looks at them, whereas he gave you a wonderful stare. I'm not sure about the repost. I personally thought the owl looked pretty good in the OP, although I might have wished for just a tad more room at top. I don't mind the busy environment. I thought the brightness in the OP needed some toning down, but in the repost it still looks bright, but with less vibrance if that makes any sense. Don't know the answer but I think there is a great image in there waiting for the right touch-- maybe just a slight Highlights reduction on the BG?

[Daniel Cadieux]

Both versions look good to me...and I gotta say that the busy habitat here actually works! The owl stands out nicely despite it, and the branches are neatly textures. I also love the yellow sunlight hues seeping through those branches. Wonderful! I only hope you have a bit more room top and bottom to re-crop in case someone wants to get 4 : 5 ratio'd version of this such as an 8x10 or 16x20...

[Marina Scarr]

Your processing is really good on this owl, and what a stunner he is. I think you really made your owl stand out and I am voting for the original version. I would probably prefer a little more room but you know what distracting elements you had to contend with when cropping this image,and I do not.

[Steve Large]

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the wonderful and helpful comments. I used a bit of a trick on this image in that I had a fellow photographer stand so his shadow was across the bird. The sun was nice to see that day but not so great for this type of image. Here is a version where we didn't use shadows to even the exposure. You might say it is kind of the reverse of the original. I kind of like aspects on both but you be da judge

Take care and good light,

Steve

[Daniel Cadieux]

Clever!

[Henry Domke]

I had a fellow photographer stand so his shadow was across the bird.

Ingenious! I've used reflectors to shade flowers from harsh light but I've never thought about trying to shade birds!
I just wish your friend was translucent. Then some of the light would have been transmitted.

[christopher galeski]

very nice Steve,like the OP,dont mind the BG,thats were they roost,some nice detail in the feather's,love those eyes.