Long Eared Owl

[Michael Thompson]

From the same perch as the last shot, only after the first one flew off, the other was happy to let me get closer for a better detailed picture... Canon 7Dll with the Canon 100-400ll @ 400 mm, f6.3, 1/160, 1000iso, handheld.

[Joe Subolefsky]

Love the eye contact. Think I might have tried to pull out the crossing sticks low in front of the bird. TFS

[Marina Scarr]

Truly a stunning owl and image. I personally love the way the sticks cross in front of the owl. The trunk and sticks frame the owl well. I am green with envy and would love to photograph one of these beauties one day.

[arash_hazeghi]

what a handsome owl in an alert pose! the surroundings are a bit cluttered but not much you can do about that, as presented the image is too dark, you need to brighten it by ~1/2 stop at least

[Michael Thompson]

what a handsome owl in an alert pose! the surroundings are a bit cluttered but not much you can do about that, as presented the image is too dark, you need to brighten it by ~1/2 stop at least

Thanks for the tip. I don't know how to tell "stops" but I will try to guess. I would love to hear more opinions on this, it may be one I want to enter in my nature photography club. I also have more shots with less clutter, but I really like the tree in this one.

[Michael Thompson]

OK, I wasn't too sure while brightening the image, whether I thought it was a good idea or not, but now seeing both on the same page together, I do think the brighter one looks better. thanks! ~MT

[David Salem]

What a great looking owl and I really like the alert pose. The branches are not ideal but what can you do. The repost is just a little to bright, but close. You could also add some saturation to this one to give it a bit more of a colorful pop.
After I wrote this I decided to work the image real quick. Removed the lower branch, added a bit of blacks using levels and added some saturation, about 5 points, to give it a bit more color. Hope you don't mind. Nice frame

[Michael Thompson]

What a great looking owl and I really like the alert pose. The branches are not ideal but what can you do. The repost is just a little to bright, but close. You could also add some saturation to this one to give it a bit more of a colorful pop.
After I wrote this I decided to work the image real quick. Removed the lower branch, added a bit of blacks using levels and added some saturation, about 5 points, to give it a bit more color. Hope you don't mind. Nice frame

No, dont mind at all, it is helpful to see what others like instead of trying to figure out what they wrote. Nice job removing the stick, looks perfect.