Barred Owl in Swamp Maple

[Russ Norwood]

I saw this owl catching crawfish in a ditch on the opposite side of the trail as I slowly idled my Jeep through the muddy ruts in Louisiana's Maurepas Swamp. I was pretty sure the owl would fly away if I tried to get out or turn around to shoot through my open window so I improvised. I knelt on the center console and shot through the sunroof while playing a barred owl call on my IPhone to make the bird look at me.

Russ Norwood

[John Robinson]

Hi Russ
Looks pretty OK to me. Maybe darken the whole thing down a bit (simple gamma drop ) but no big deal Good for you to give the shooting set up.
Cheers
John

[Russ Norwood]

Hi Russ
Looks pretty OK to me. Maybe darken the whole thing down a bit (simple gamma drop ) but no big deal Good for you to give the shooting set up.
Cheers
John

Thanks very much John. Ah, the irony. I actually lifted gamma slightly as I resized and uploaded. My monitor here at the office is calibrated but ambient lighting is brighter than my workspace at home where I processed the original. I should know better. This is an ad agency and I always turn down the lights for critical work. My compliments on the sharp eye and thanks again for the feedback.

Oh, and I forgot the shooting info, so here it is: Canon 7D, 500mm F4IS + 1.4TC, ISO 800, 1/160 at F5.6, evaluative metering, +2/3 EV exposure compensation.

Russ

[Alan Murphy]

Love the setting on this one. Wish for more room all around.

[Russ Norwood]

Love the setting on this one. Wish for more room all around.

Now that I look at it again with your comment in mind, I agree. Went back to LR to open it up and although I had room to do so, the clutter stopped me in my tracks. It will take significant work to clean up the surroundings, work for a bad weather day. Thanks Alan.

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely feather details and the owls work well against the green. I would really love to see more room all around. The owl looks a bit cramped in the frame.

[keith mitchell]

Don't think I would change a thing about the Owl itself it looks perfect to me,agree about maybe a little more space.

Keith.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Excellent image, and I like the maple leaves in front. Great forest feel to it too. Your strategy paid off....

[Andreas Liedmann]

Besides the fact i think the Owl is a bit tight in the frame , a really stunning image , simply works !! I hope you have some more room for the Owl to breathe .

TFS Andreas

[Russ Norwood]

Thanks Andreas.

Now I'm beginning to feel sorry for that poor little owl. When I get time I'll go back and see what I can do to open it up a little, but as I mentioned earlier it was a very crowded scene so it will take some work.

Russ