I captured this image at Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, Florida, this past April. Many of the places I go birding are closed to clean up and repair hurricane damage, so the old file are always a fall back. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.
Nikon D500
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED shot at 400mm
1/125 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV 0 ISO 720, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC 2017
Cropped for composition and presentation
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Great look at this fantastic owl. Love the tones and details of this shot. The hanging moss takes it over the top. I would crop this differently. Would do an 8:10 crop and have the left edge with the hanging moss. I would remove the out of focus moss on the left completely and then add more canvas above the bird. I would also tone down the bright white spot on the right of the bird in the background. Nothing a few passes with the burn tool at a low opacity can't fix.
Very nice Joe. Other than sending you back to your archives, I hope you came through the hurricane without problems - got plenty of news coverage here.
As for your lovely photo, the soft light is wonderful and I like the pose and framing. I also like the slightly asymmetrical face. I think toning down the background a little would improve - but only a fraction so you still have good separation in tones with the owl. The tones and colour on the owl look excellent and great detail and clarity as usual. Look forward to more.