Florida Burrowing Owl

[Joseph Przybyla]

A blessed and merry Christmas everyone. I captured this image in Cape Coral, Florida. I guess I wish the top of the eyes were not in shadows, but difficult when on the ground and the owls gaze is fixed there, the eyes are set deep into the sockets. Maybe the only way is if something attracted the attention towards the sky. The little owls are only about 9 inches tall so not a lot to work with. 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
1/2000 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV 0 ISO 360 Auto 1 WB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed recently in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2020 and Neat Image for noise reduction
Cropped from horizontal to vertical for composition and presentation

[Arthur Morris]

Technically spot on but ... Good self critique.

with love, a

[John Mack]

Love those eyes and the direct stare. The framing looks very nice as well. Like the mush in the foreground. Light looks harsh but you handled it well.