Burrowing Owl Take Off

[David Salem]

The owls in my area have been affected by the drought out here. At one time we had three pair that were breeding and all had four babies. This year there is only one pair left, but it's nice to see that they have five chicks.
This is the male that was the best hunter last year and he is the one breeding this year. This was shot last year as he is taking off to hunt.

1DMkIV---500mm---f7.1---ss1/3200---ISO640---HH from truck@ 8:15am---30% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.

David

[gail bisson]

Love the light and the color palette.
Great pose as well.
Tricky comp as I feel you should have a bit more room at the bottom and right but if we did that I think the rock would become too dominant.
So as Goldilocks would say this is "just right"!!

[David Salem]

Thanks Gail. I played with this a few times and came up with the same conclusion I feel like it needs more on bottom but the rock is too heavy so this works.
Thanks again.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very lovely bird, light and excellent timing David!
So glad you capture this handsome bird at the right moment and with such colours!

[Ian Wilson]

Beautiful work David. I wouldn't disagree with Goldilocks. Congratulations on a great capture. Cheers, Ian

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent take off shot, David. The head is nice and sharp and that's what matters the most. In fact the OOF legs create a tree dimensional feel.

[Don Nelson]

Excellent pose/capture. too tight in the frame for me - especially the distance below. Canvas extensions?

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image of take off.Love the full wings up, color pallet and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Binu John]

Love the pose you captured! You nailed the exposure and focus! Thanks for sharing this beautiful shot!

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi david, lovely shot and sharp where it counts. I like the reddish color here, but wonder if it is the true color of the owl. The ones I saw are more brown than red. TFS. Loi

[christopher galeski]

nice image Dave,good takeoff pose,nice BG.

[vishaljadhav]

Wonderful image, just right,
eye contact is lovely and the light is special
i love it over all

[Daniel Cadieux]

Amazing pose, and those eyes are so sharp and mesmerizing. Love that one claw still cliniging to the rock. If anyhting I do wish that shadow was not there on the rock.

[David Salem]

Thanks for the comments everyone!!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi David, great focus in the right area, as the Owl's face is nice and sharp. Love the concentration in the eyes, raised wings, and the colour of the BG compliments the owl nicely. Very well captured.

[David Salem]

Thanks again everyone.
Here is a quick repost with some of your suggestions addressed. Added Canvas below and to the right. I also got rid of the shadow as Daniel suggested.

[Grace Scalzo]

Wow, that face is so intense and sharp. Your repost makes this one sing. Great work, as always, David.

[MiroslavMaric]

Great shot and timing. The head is sharp with nice eyes. BG is clean and great color tone too. Like the 2nd crop more. Cheers! Miro

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Awesome shot Dave. Killer sharp and a lovely pose. Repost is excellent.
Hope the BUOW family does well.

[arash_hazeghi]

sweet dynamic pose and light, the repost with the shadow gone is a major improvement

[David Salem]

Thanks again everyone.

Sid, I was out a few days ago and all the chicks looked good. Thanks for asking.

[Ivan Ellison]

Great shot, love the wings and the perfectly sharp face. Agree the repost without the shadow is better

[Diane Miller]

Amazing capture! Wonderful eyes! I like the added room but I'd make another pass with the clone tool to fix the repeats, with a little more random sampling points. I think the shadow was OK -- maybe could have been a tad lighter.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi David, excellent timing, these go like rockets when they set off, so you always have to be ready.

Sadly my location does not allow for getting flight shots, although I need to address this!!! Great to have good light, have you worked out a rate for hiring your mobile blind yet?

TFS
Steve

[David Salem]

Thanks again everyone for the comments. I appreciate it.

Steve, You mentioned hiring out my truck a few months ago also and I wanted you to know that I will be doing exactly that this coming winter. Due to many inquiries, I will be doing a few different workshops this year.
I will be advertising them soon. I will be doing one featuring waterfowl and a few featuring raptors and a falconry experience.
Thanks for your support and your suggestions about hiring out my truck.
If you ever make it to this side of the world, your ride in the truck is covered by me :) California is a great vacation and photography destination!!
Thanks again for your support over the last few years.

David

[Loi Nguyen]

Thanks again everyone for the comments. I appreciate it.

Steve, You mentioned hiring out my truck a few months ago also and I wanted you to know that I will be doing exactly that this coming winter. Due to many inquiries, I will be doing a few different workshops this year.
I will be advertising them soon. I will be doing one featuring waterfowl and a few featuring raptors and a falconry experience.
Thanks for your support and your suggestions about hiring out my truck.
If you ever make it to this side of the world, your ride in the truck is covered by me :) California is a great vacation and photography destination!!
Thanks again for your support over the last few years.

David

Hey David, we talked about your plan nearly 2 years ago. Glad to see that it is coming together. Please keep me posted and good luck with the chicks. I didn't see any chicks at Salton Sea 3 weeks ago. Loi

[Doug Brown]

Killer take-off pose with great sharpness on the face! I would like to see a bit more room at the bottom of the frame if you've got it. On a side note, Dave and I are looking forward to doing a winter duck workshop together next year. Info can be found by clicking on the link in my sig.

[keith mitchell]

David don't think I can add a lot to what as already been said, it really is excellent.

Keith.

[Bob Pelkey]

My experience with observation of Florida Burrowing Owls near nesting season is that the male will stand guard at the entrance to the burrow. The male is easier to identify from the female when they are seen together as the male's feathers become "bleached" in the winter sun. I have only seen Burrowing Owls capture prey on a few occasions (very close to the burrow entrance) in daylight, while both adult birds typically leave the burrow entrance after sunset (apparently to hunt) before the owlets hatch. With five owlets to feed, it would seem necessary for both parents to be hunting around the clock. Stunning image, David. If you have no objection to post processing magic, I wouldn't mind seeing the elimination of the bird's shadow which for me is a distraction.

[David Salem]

Thanks Bob for the comment. Din't realize that I got a comment on this post as it has been almost 10 months since I posted. I did address the shadow in a re-post above. Thanks and good luck with your Owls.
Mine are on eggs now!