Snowy Owl

[Jonathan Michael Ashton]

Wish I could say this was a shot in the wild, but it isn't, it is a captive bird , owned by a local bird of prey rescue centre. My friend organised a photo workshop for the day. How lucky were we - a snowy day and a snowy owl - the former unusual and the latter possibly unique.
On looking at the upload I think I may have just blown the white plumage on the top of the head - I could kick myself because the RAW file and initial converted TIFF is fine.
Camera Model: Canon EOS 50D
Author Photographer: Jon Ashton
Shooting Mode: Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ): 1/500
Av( Aperture Value ): 5.6
Metering Mode: Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation: +2/3
ISO Speed: 320
Auto ISO Speed: OFF
Lens: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Focal Length: 400.0mm
White Balance Mode: Auto
AF Mode: AI Servo AF
Picture Style: Standard
Color Space: sRGB

All comments welcome

Jon

[Daniel Cadieux]

The white on the head doesn't look blown from my side - and I actually think some of the bird could go lighter (especially the lower part). This would have been a perfect situation for fill-flash. I like the fluffing up pose. Not about about the thin OOF white area just skimming the top of the head, but overall very nice :-)

[Rene Quenneville]

You could do some dodging on the lower parts and the eyes. You could also saturate a bit the yellows and this will be a striking picture.

[Alfred Forns]

The tweaks suggested will make a difference btw you are going mostly after light tones and your camera performs well, might bump the ISO !!!

[Desmond Chan]

I like the look of this snowy owl. The fact that it is not another perching shot helps, too :)