Burrowing Owl Intensity

[Doug Brown]

I just got back from a great BIF workshop in Southern California that I co-led with Jim Neiger, and was fortunate to spend a morning shooting with good friend Dave Salem. We paid a visit to his now famous Burrowing Owl family, and the owls put on quite a show for us. Here's one of my favorite frames from that morning. I love how huge their eyes get during take-off!

Canon 1Dx, 600 mm II, f/5, 1/2500, ISO 800, manual exposure, hand held from car

[Karl Egressy]

Great incoming shot, Doug. The huge eyes are pretty amazing. Perfect focus on the head.

[Paul Kusmin]

That's a pretty cool shot Doug, love the eye intensity, the wings are fanned nicely too.

[gail bisson]

Very nice. It is all about the eyes!
I wonder if you could dodge the RLC . I find the dark area pulls my eye down.
Gail

[David Salem]

What a great shot Doug. That was a fun morning and I'm glad you were able to make it out here for the morning. Much better action than your trip last year. Once these guys start hunting,especially Japanese Beetles, it is pretty active for a few weeks. Nice head on stare as he takes off and you caught him with the eyes right in the perfect position and in the perfect focal plane. The detail is fantastic.
Looking forward to our waterfowl workshop together this winter. Well done.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent take of pose with very nice wing spread and beautiful eyes.


Regards,
Satish.

[Ishmeet Sahni]

Super exposure of the eyes, they look like headlights staring right at you. Brilliant..

[Daniel Cadieux]

So intense! Love that pose, good light, and the crop works well.

[Richard Flack]

Intensity is definitely the right adjective! Nice shot Doug. Would love it even more if the rock/perch wasn't so big. The yellow on the rock (LHS) is a bit distracting IMO. That said, I would give a ton to get a shot like this! Thanks

[arash_hazeghi]

That's a crazy frame! hope you had fun

[Doug Brown]

Very much appreciate the feedback everyone!

[Marina Scarr]

The intense look here and pose are just out of this world. Love the way the wings are fully extended forward. Took the image into PS and did a little bit of burning around the eyes and head. I think it improved an already kick butt, unique frame.