Snowy Owl

[denise ippolito]

Canon 40D
100-400mm
ISO 200
1/640 sec. at f/6.3
HH

was shooting landscapes when I saw this gal and did the best I could w/ the 100-400 lens. Steep angle and side light:p It's my first sighting of a Snowy Owl and I'm just thankful I had my camera!!!

[Cheryl Flory]

how wonderful, Denise! Great eye contact, you handled the lighting well!
this is one of my dream birds to photo! congrats!

[denise ippolito]

Thanks Cheryl, It has been on the top of my list of birds to see-let alone photograph. I was so excited to see how big it really was-

[Cheryl Flory]

how about a bit more room on the bottom? It is such a large bird, that I "feel" that it needs a more substantial size perch.

[denise ippolito]

This is almost full frame- there is no room on bottom

[Cheryl Flory]

wow. you were close! good for you! do you have any more images of this bird to post?? :)

[denise ippolito]

I was about 25 feet away- he flew over my head and perched-I switched cameras to my 100-400mm and shot approx 20 shots . I'm going out today w/ my 500mm + 1.4 ex.and tripod to see if I can spot him.

[Gus Cobos]

Well done Lady Denise,
A very nice close up pose. The details are sharp and the color rendition is good. I like the eyes...suggestion; I would lighten the eyes a tad and selective sharpen...the left side of the face is in the shadow...aside from this, a superb capture congrats...proud of you...:):cool:

[Dave Leroy]

Good looking bird, Denise. Well done and good luck on the next one. Dave

[Nonda Surratt]

How super Denise, what a thrill it must have been and best luck with the 500!!! Good going

[Lance Peters]

HI Denise - wow awesome bird, you have done very well in my books. Love the eyes and the composition.
Angle of sun and steep angle already noted by yourself :)
Made a couple of changes

Selectively lighten the side in the shade (S/H) and sharpened the eyes a tad - any better?

[Alfred Forns]

Never seen one Denise so you are way ahead of me !!! :)

I feel you made the best possible image from your position !! I like the tweaks by Lance. If you don't use a flash for these side lit birds its always good trying to even out the shows a bit, not to the point of eliminating but just lessening !!! Always strive to make it natural !!! Big Congrats on this one !!!

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Beautiful capture D. Like Al, I've never seen one either. You did great, composition, exposure and eye contact are all there.

[Gus Hallgren]

Hi Denise:

Snowy Zorro!

An awesome photo. For a Documentary or Contest photo I think the original is superb. Artisticly, Lance's repost on the money.

Many thanks for sharing

Uncle Gus