Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Northern Spotted Owl

  1. #1
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    Posts
    336
    Threads
    47
    Thank You Posts

    Default Northern Spotted Owl

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Here is a female Northern Spotted Owl, taken in Washington. It's a treat to see this declining subspecies up so close. It's hard to get clean backgrounds much of the time, but I'll take what I can get with this bird.

    Postprocessing:

    Usual sliders, sharpening to bird, NR and 1.5-pixel Gaussian Blur to background, removal of one of the more distracting sticks in BG, burning on some BG highlights.

    Tech:

    Nikon D7100
    Nikkor AF-S 300 mm f4D
    ISO 2000
    1/160
    f/4
    handheld

  2. #2
    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Somewhere in the world
    Posts
    20,688
    Threads
    1,296
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Nice subject to photograph Walker, and I like the jaunty angle of the head. Not sure how much you can push the ISO, but 1/160 seems a bit low for HH, but I guess also from the DoF light was of a premium.

    Overall I find the image too contrasty and rather crunchy, Blacks/Contrast/Shadows appear pushed and so the sharpening just amplifies things and any nice detail is lost. Those gorgeous eyes are dark are almost boarding on 'blocked/choked' and so any fine detail again is lost, but there is detail and form in there which will bring life back to the eyes. Is this a big crop or FF?

    Walker I would, if you have the time, revisit the Raw, don't push the Blacks, Contrast, Clarity and reduce the Whites & Highlights here, it's all about balancing, you will then start to get more from the file, although I'm having to make assumptions here based on the posting. The attached RP is less than perfect, but it may illustrate my points taking your OP, but extremely limited to how far I can go, but the RAW should provide you with all you need. Make sure you also use the ETTR method for exposure, in that way you will maximise the data captured, have a better file to work with and less PP spent.

    Hope this helps.

    TFS
    Steve

  3. #3
    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    12,487
    Threads
    1,892
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Another amazing owl shot, Walker. Especially good to get this species up close and in the open. Good advice from Steve; definitely worth revisiting to make the most of this great opportunity. I also love the touch of blood on the beak. I don't know how much of a crop this is, but for my personal taste it's just a bit large in the frame.

  4. #4
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    1,643
    Threads
    182
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Beautiful sighting Walker. I like the pose perch and blood on the beak as well. You've gotten some great advice above, and I can only echo it with Steve's RP being a good step. A lot of really nice potential in this shot, just some minor tweaks to send it over the top. TFS

  5. #5
    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Nova Scotia
    Posts
    12,731
    Threads
    910
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Great species to get an image of.
    I hate to repeat what has been said already but Steve has nailed the issues with this image.
    Looking forward to seeing a repost,
    Gail

  6. #6
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Staten Island, New York
    Posts
    3,124
    Threads
    260
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Walker you are killing it with the owl shots!!! Another fine shot of an extremely hard bird to see. I much prefer the original post for the bird. I would lift the mid tones a touch being very careful not to make the bird look thin and hazy. Softening the background as in the repost is fine.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics