Little Old Owl

[Cheryl Flory]

Canon 40D
Tamron 17-50
50mm
1/800"
F5
ISO 400
EC +.33

Here is another image of the senior bird at the rehabilitation center. I would like to know how to improve it. I had trouble especially with its ear tuft on the right. Is the image too bland? large crop

[Cheryl Flory]

or do you prefer the image of the Screech Owl doing its Great Horned Owl pose?

[Harold Davis]

looks fantastic on my end!! the eyes look sharper than the feathers. did you selectively sharpen them and not the feathers?

[Cheryl Flory]

Harold, are you talking about the second image? I don't remember doing any adjusting specifically to the eye. maybe I finally got the focus point right on the eye this time. lol.

[Harold Davis]

i was talking about the first. i didnt see the second until after i posted.

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Cheryl,
I like the second composition the best, it looks crisp and sharp with the saturation and contrast in check...:cool:

[denise ippolito]

Cheryl, I too prefer the second one-it is nice and sharp and his eye is killer!!

[Cheryl Flory]

Harold, on the first I contrasted the eyes a bit more than the feathers.

[Alfred Forns]

I like the second also but both are excellent First has a sweet look and the other strong !!! I like the extra density on the second image !!! Neat !!!

[Nonda Surratt]

Seeing them here I also like the second one, both are super fine!

[Cheryl Flory]

Thanks, Nonda. Just image what you could do at the center with your lenses!! :)

[Dave Leroy]

Both are very nice images Cheryl. I find that they do have a different appeal, the first softer andf more serene, the second much stronger. My suggestion, and I may be in left field, is the eyes are so prominent and appear to me that both are looking over one shoulder or the other. As an idea I might try and use R. O'Tooles eye treatment in APTATS. It might strenghten the eyes even more and it might be possible, if they are actually not quite looking into the camera, to get that look.
Really nice. Dave

[Julie Kenward]

Cheryl, here's what I did to the first image:

Open up Photoshop and click on an exposure adjustment. There are three sliders here: exposure, offset and gamma. I moved exposure to -0.16; offset to -0.03 and gamma to +1.10. Those little tiny changes in exposure brought back most of the detail and depth. Here's the finished product:

[Gus Hallgren]

Hi

Both # 1 & 2 are excellent, prefer #2, and think Jules repost took #1 over the top . . .

Think she followed 2 important critera in her repost ~ One: An improvement on the original. Two: She told how it was done :)

Cheryl, I enjoyed viewing your well done photos.

Thanks for sharing

Uncle Gus

[Cheryl Flory]

Thank you, everyone. I always learn so much!