I went back again today for a few minutes. I thought we had some sunlight but it quickly went away when we got there. I wanted to try AV mode this time. Once it got cloudy I adjusted my settings and by that time the owl had sat down in the hole a little bit so I only got his one shoulder and head this time.
Canon EOS 5D MIII
Canon 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4xTC
AV
ISO 1600
f/6.3
1/250s
Tomorrow if it's light enough I want to go back to Manual and try the settings Arash suggested: 1600 ISO, f/5.6, 1/2000s if the sunset light is right.
Cropped about 20% off in PS, darkened everything but the owl, did a USM of the owl only and lightened the eyes a tiny bit. Also increased saturation and vibrance a little on the owl. Did the sharpening last.
Not what I was trying for today but I like it a lot. I thought this closeup portrait looked nice.
Ashleigh, this is awesome! Love the crop, love the look the owl gave you, and I love the cavity it is sitting in. I would just eliminate what looks like a small black hole near the top of the frame as my eye wanders there a lot due to it. Well done!
Nice soft light and composition Ashleigh! Details also good. Just a suggestion for the next shoot; you don't need 1/2000 for a stationary owl, I would raise the f/stop instead and try to get all of the tree bark in front of the owl in focus.