Burrowing Owl on a dirt clod!

[Dan Brown]

Well, harsh light and an ugly perch here but I like the colors in the bird versus the clod plus the oof flowers in the bg. Processed using Capture NX2, ACR and PSCS5 where I reduced saturation on the bg and sharpened for web with a high pass layer and usm. I also had to use a soft light layer to even out the brightness of the eyes, as the eye on our right was way brighter than the other, interesting that this eye, being in the shade picked up and reflected more ambient light than the eye actually receiving more light!

Camera Model: NIKON D800, handheld
Shutter speed: 1/2000 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Spot
ISO: 400
Lens: 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6
Focal length: 400mm
VR Image Stabilization: On
AF mode: AF-C

[arash_hazeghi]

pose is excellent, sharp. but the light was coming from the side here as a result some of the whites are blown

TFS

[Barry Ekstrand]

Dan,

I like it. Having tried to get close to Burrowing Owls in Lubbock, TX I recognize how hard it is to get close enough for a shot like this. Very nice pose and I think you did a great job balancing the eye brightness. Light is on the harsh side but I say that is what life gives us for 8 hours a day or so, good job in dealing with it. I don't find the dirt clod perch to be a negative, for me it goes with the nature of this species and makes for an appropriate comp. All in all very well done, congrats.

Barry

[keith mitchell]

Hello Dan,never seen one of these birds before so not in a position to comment much, but reading your comment and the others it sounds like you did really well with that light,great pose and eye contact.

Regards Keith.

[Bill Dix]

Nice pose, and I think you did a good job with the lighting under the circumstances. I might be tempted to crop a bit off the clod and add corresponding amount to the top.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the pose, perch, and most of the BG...but I agree the harsh light and its angle were not ideal. Ideally, if it was feasible, moving around to the bird's left may have helped with that but I suspect it was not possible. Sharp as posted and good composition.