Barred Owl

[Bill Dix]

Here's one from Circle B Bar Reserve, taken shortly after sunrise one morning in early February. Thanks, Joe, for the tip. Dim light forced me to push the ISO above, and SS below, my usual comfort level. I took almost 200 frames of this guy over the course of a half-hour, but never could get one with a direct stare. This is about as close as he gave me. There were other photographers and birders there at the same time, all of them being respectful of the bird, and I felt it inappropriate to call or whistle to get him to look at me.

D500, 500f4, ISO 5000, 1/250s @ f/5.6 manual. Gitzo and Mongoose. Full-frame.

[Adhika Lie]

Nice find, Bill! And beautifully captured, too. Too bad about the stare but I do like the gaze here, too. No evidence of noise even with that high ISO!

[Juan Tolentino]

Nice frame Bill, wow, ISO 5000? I don't remember ever using such high ISO.


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[John Whaley]

I like the hanging moss and composition here Bill. Nice capture.

[keith mitchell]

Well done with this Bill I see no noise,love the way you have caught this Owl it really does look great.

Keith.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely shot Bill - very clean image. I would suggest dodging the yes just a tiny bit.

[William Dickson]

Very well done Bill. A great natural looking image. I love everything about it. You should shoot more at that ISO Good work.

Will

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Very nice capture, Bill. Love the Spanish moss we had surrounding this beauty.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hey Bill, the owls are still around that area. No owlets yet. Good to see what the D500 can do at ISO 5000, Nice image, thank you for sharing.

[Jim Crosswell]

A real beauty Bill! I like the curvy oak perch, Spanish moss, composition and BG. A real natural feel to this image.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks everyone. Here's a repost with a bit of dodging of the eyes. Maybe more than a tiny bit.

[Jim Crosswell]

These owls have dark eyes and the original looks way more natural to me. I would stay with the original and print it on a big canvas if it were mine.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Jim. I wondered if I had gone too far.

[keith mitchell]

Bill agree with Jim it's the original for me.

[David Salem]

The whole scene with the branch and the hanging moss looks fantastic therefore the lack of direct eye contact doesn't hurt the image IMO. Nice details, colors and comp Bill. Very nice owl image! Oh, I like the original better too.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the kind comments. I also prefer the OP.

[Glenn Conlan]

Great shot Bill, The environmental setting makes this special

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Glenn.