Short-eared owl

[Kamal Hari Menon]

They are winter visitors to our part of the world.

C&C welcome...



EXIF

Make - NIKON CORPORATION
Model - NIKON D500
DateTime - 2019:12:15 20:22:34
ExposureTime - 1/1250 seconds
FNumber - 4
ExposureProgram - Aperture priority
ISOSpeedRatings - 500
ExposureBiasValue - -0.33
SubjectDistance - 19.95 m
MeteringMode - Spot
LightSource - Auto
FocalLength - 500.00 mm
ColorSpace - sRGB

[David Roach]

Great job getting so low and getting this beauty to stay on the ground. You really got the look and took full advantage. Was it on a kill? With that direct stare the composition also works for me. TFS

[gail bisson]

Great POV and I really like the environment portrayed.
I like the direct gaze.
I like the crop and the OOF FG but couls see a version with the bird a bit lower in the frame.
Nice and sharp.

[Bill Dix]

Great eye contact. Nice and sharp on the face. I could see taking a bit off the bottom, maybe to around the top of your signature.

[Aditya Sridhar]

Great shot of a stunning bird! Exp., sharpness and colors are spot-on.

I would definitely remove space off the bottom and maybe even off-set the bird slightly - as is, it's a bit too centered for my taste. I also think this image needs some CCW rotation. Lastly, if it's something you're comfortable doing, I'd suggest cloning out the vegetation that are intersecting with the bird's back as I find them quite distracting. TFS

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Kamal, this is my kind of image, loving the habitat and look to camera. Agree that the subject is too central and could appear a little bigger in frame, you don't say if this is a crop or FF? Personally I think you could have got a bit more DoF and still retained the OOF bokeh as you are shooting with a 500. Ethics permitting I would clone out the grasses towards the tail, tweak the WB a fraction, reduce the blue in the bill and have a td more 'depth' in the overall image. Adding some selective sharpening also helps.

I'm currently away and using the MacBook Pro, but hopefully this may illustrate my points. Nice work.

TFS
Steve

[Steve Kaluski]

SubjectDistance - 19.95 m
MeteringMode - Spot
LightSource - Auto
FocalLength - 500.00 mm
ColorSpace - sRGB

I meant to check Kamal, as the question hasn't been raised, are you saying the camera is set to sRGB? If so, then you should change it to RAW, yes you have more PP to do, but your images will be far better

[John Mack]

Nice to be right at eye level with this owl. The pose is great. Also really dig the setting this one is in.

[Kamal Hari Menon]

Thanks David,

It was not a kill.

[Kamal Hari Menon]

Thanks Steve,

It is full frame image. Unfortunately i didn't get a chance to clock in some more DOF. But I feel that gave this feel to the image. I agree that some of the grass can be removed/blurred. Thanks for the suggestions

[Kamal Hari Menon]

I meant to check Kamal, as the question hasn't been raised, are you saying the camera is set to sRGB? If so, then you should change it to RAW, yes you have more PP to do, but your images will be far better

I shoot RAW only. this is coming from the final Jpeg.