Florida Burrowing Owl

[Joseph Przybyla]

I captured this image on Marco Island, Florida. For those not familiar with Burrowing Owls, they are small. About 8 to 10 inches tall (19 to 28 cm). I have yet to go to Marco Island since Hurricane Irma flooded the island, I wonder how it impacted the owls. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D500
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED image captured at 400mm
1/500 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV +2/3 ISO 1100 AWB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC 2018
Cropped for composition and presentation

[Bill Dix]

Lovely shot, Joe, with great stare and nice colorful background.

[Isaac Grant]

That stare and background look really nice. Details look nice as well. I think a little more room above would be better. I'm not a huge fan of these man made perches. I wish they would put up some nice perches for all of the photographers that support the local economies.

[Arthur Morris]

Nice stare and BKGR and nice soft light. Bird is too centered ... And the dark stuff encroaching from the top is distracting ...

with love, artie

[Joseph Przybyla]

Nice stare and BKGR and nice soft light. Bird is too centered ... And the dark stuff encroaching from the top is distracting ...

with love, artie

Hi Artie, thanks for viewing and commenting. I can take care of the dark in the background. Which way would you move the owl so not centered?

[Arthur Morris]

You are welcome. With this one, I'd like the bird on the left side of the frame ... Best to do that in the field so that you have less work to do in post.

with love, artie

[Joseph Przybyla]

Thanks everyone for viewing, commenting, and suggesting improvements. Here is an edit reflecting those suggestions.

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Joe, You did really well with the dark strip; did you protect the bird? Either way, what is your trick? Ideally for me that composition would have the bird somewhere between the fourth line and the third line. The centered eyes are still right of the thirds line. Again, way easier to focus and re-compose in the field :)

with love, artie

[Arthur Morris]

ps: as Burrowing Owl perches go, I do not mind the weathered stake at all.

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[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Artie, yes I protected the bird. I used the Magic Wand in Photoshop making a selection of the background, adding in the different tones until I had the whole background selected. Then I feathered the selection 1 pixel. Using the Paint Brush tool set at 40% opacity I selected the lighter green color, painting over the dark purple at the top. Next I selected a darker green and selectively brushed over the lighter green until it looked right to my eye.

[Bill Dix]

Nice work, Joe.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Artie, yes I protected the bird. I used the Magic Wand in Photoshop making a selection of the background, adding in the different tones until I had the whole background selected. Then I feathered the selection 1 pixel. Using the Paint Brush tool set at 40% opacity I selected the lighter green color, painting over the dark purple at the top. Next I selected a darker green and selectively brushed over the lighter green until it looked right to my eye.

Thanks Joe, You did a great job with the background. I am good at making selections but have never painted with the Paint Brush Tool; I will have to try that. May I assume that you use a relatively large brush?

with love, artie

[Joseph Przybyla]

Good Morning Artie, yes a large brush. The one I used for the owl was 700px with a hardness of 0. Large and very soft.

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Joe,

Many thanks. I mentioned this post and your photo in this morning's blog post here.

Have a great 2018.

with love, artie