Who are you??

[Yves Matteau]

Canon 40 D
F/6.3
ISO 640
1/2000 sec
420MM
Expo. Comp. +1.00

[Ken Watkins]

This looks a little strange to me but I suppose it is meant to be like this.I do not think I like the total absence of a BG. The bird itself is very striking, I am not much of a birder, can you let us know what it is?

[Yves Matteau]

This is a snowy owl that could go to the south in winter coming from the north.

[Ken Watkins]

Thanks for that info!

[Dave Mills]

Very nice high key presentation.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Very cool pose and eye contact. He looks almost worried. :) The eyes have some artifacts, maybe from lightening and/or sharpening.

[Steve Large]

I really like this because it conveys an almost human quality. It is in itself quite artistic as the total white background accentuates the owl's expression of awarness and the way it seems to be trying to judge wether you are a threat.

Steve

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I can understand why it looks a little unusual with no real BG reference other than white snow. It works well though and I love the pose. It indeed looks a little concerned. :) Great job!

[paul leverington]

Well how can you not love this guy! He looks so worried! And as Steve said he has a lot of human qualities here. I love the high key but wonder if it was blown out some. No matter --even if the snow had a little detail, it wouldn't be any better than this. I absolutely love the shot! I actually feel that because he's not looking directly at us it helps the shot. Makes a person wonder a little what he's looking at.

Paul

[denise ippolito]

Love the pose and shot! WELL DONE!!

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Yves, I absoultely love this image; the bird is loaded with personality; looks like a professor. Love the high key/no background look. I do not see the artifacts that Axel does but he is as sharp-eyed as most raptors (and I am not).... I would actually like to see the eyes a bit brighter and the bird more centered. It might need a bit of CCW rotation; use the Ruler Tool and draw a line between the centers of the two pupils and then hit Image/Rotate/Arbitrary.

[Bruce Enns]

Hi Yves, I also love this image...the bird definitely looks worried, perhaps even forlorn. I wonder if tha worried 'facial expression' is enhanced by the position of the birds body in the frame (facing towards the near side)? Does thatcreate some additional tension? Where's the photo psychologist?

I'm a big fan of high key images as well. Welldone!

Cheers!
Bruce

[Manjeet & Yograj Jadeja]

lovely expression , nice clear background , couldn't have been captured or presented in a better way

[Eleanor Kee Wellman]

I really like this one, Yves! The pose is a bit different and the streaking of the bird makes it stand out well against the white background. Good detail!. It looks concerned but not stressed enough to have its wings ready for flight. For the most part I like your choice of composition. If you have the space I would make the distance from the left side the same as the distance from the top.

[Yves Matteau]

Thank everybody for the appreciation and comments. It is very encouraging since the snowy owls are very hard to come close by.