A beautiful Barred Owl, perched low enough, that I came face-to-face with in a forested area very close to home. I went the next day, and it was still there, on the same tree...hopefully setting-up shop for the breeding season!! There are a couple of potential cavities and deep crevices that could be suitable. Time will tell.
Canon 7DII + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/400s., f/5.6, ISO 1600, natural light, handheld, a thin twig running behind the head removed via clone and content aware tools, FF.
Hi Dan, great eye contact here, and I like the soft light. The detail around the face shows up nice and sharp, and love the hint of the visible feet tucked around the perch. I hope you get to see more of him, and maybe later a family. I would have maybe cropped away the small section of branch in the ULC.
Agree with Stu and a slight crop would easily eliminate it, however I'm not a fan of the branch running through the body in the BKG, but again, easily removed if ethics allow.
I like the soft light and the sprinkle of snow flakes.
The direct gaze is sweet.
Since you already cloned out a branch I would clone out the bigger branch running through the body.
Crop is well executed and I too, love the view of the feet.
Nice find Dan!
Good find; hope he sticks around and raises his family. Great stare. I like the colors of the BG and the hint of snow. I don't mind the branches too much; they're typical owl habitat. If you were to remove the one behind the bird it might call more attention to the others, but maybe worth a try. I might have been tempted to add a low opacity Tonal Contrast or a few points of black to the neutrals of the bird, but that might not be true to the scene.
Great opportunity here Dan and as usual you delivered. I'm in 2 minds about cloning the branch through the body. It would certainly make the shot cleaner but it is natural habitat for the bird. Hope you get a good season with them