One of a pair of Barn owls I have been watching for a number of years at a local site, I see plenty of activity just before and after first light and more so in Dec/Jan/and Feb Canon 1d mk3 400mm 5.6 iso 400 f8 1250/sec
One of the most beautiful species of owls IMO. I like his angle towards us, the strong sense of habitat, his intense gaze.
I might consider a small crop from the top to reduce the green band a bit.
The whites to the left of his eye (as viewed) and along the leading edge of the wing are perhaps bright enough that a little detail has been lost. Just a small tweak there would polish an already nice image.
A superb capture and habitat. I imagine that you have over exposed a touch too much as suggested by Randy. Also, the bright spots between the claws have been left bright. In my view ETTR should done judiciously.
It can be tough to get exposure correct in bright sunlight on this fabulous bird. I agree with cropping some off the top but overall a very good image.
Great shot Dennis lovely details though my first reaction was the facial disc has some hot highlights and taming them (which I a feel confident is possible) would make this good shot very good indeed.
The only other suggestion I have is to try a 3:2 crop or 16:9 the detail may become even better.
I like it Dennis but would make the crop smaller (I mean make the bird small in the frame) and quality will increase even more. A little more space behind would be good.
I think the white feathers on the face look a little better, I suspect they will always appear a little bright at first sight because of the angle of the sun, but I do I fully appreciate they are not blown.
Killer image!!! I wish it were mine since this is my nemesis owl. My first thought when I saw the image was to take a little off of the top, but I feel the pano crop is too much. I love how the light is hitting this owls face and you have many nice details. Well done.