I got this shot in the last 5 minutes of golden sun. This particular owl has been at the same location for the last 2 months and is extremely cooperative.
She was lured to the post with a mouse and stayed there until the sun was gone. If I am lucky she should hang around for another 3 or 4 weeks so maybe i can get some nice flight shots.
1D IV , 400mm , f5.6 , 1/1000 , iso 800
Outstanding. Man am I jealous. Only had a few hours with the Great Grays that I saw and the majority of the time (as in all but 2 minutes) they were quite far away. This is magical. That light makes all the difference. Getting it in the snow is one thing, in my book this is quite another and is far better. The only thing that could possibly make this any better would be if you had a direct stare. Here the owl is looking off to the left ever so slightly.
Thanks Isaac . I was waiting for a straight stare but never got it , but that just means I will have to go back :) .Get your passport out and come on up to Canada . If you come up I87 its only 1 hour from the border.
I agree, what a great image!! The evening light is perfect and the details, perch and BG look great too. I'm pretty sure the RAW is very sharp so a little tighter comp wouldn't hurt IMO. I also moved the bird to the right, helping give the impression that it's looking more at us, and I adjusted the darks and lights a little in levels.
One of the better GGO images I have seen in a while. Well done.
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Thanks David. I had originally cropped it almost exactly like you did but I went back and added a little more room to the right and up top . One day i will get it right the first time lol.