Hawk Owl Portrait

[Steve Large]

Happy Valentines Day Everyone,
Here is a final post of our local celebrity the Northern Hawk Owl. He caused quite a stir and stuck around for over a month. I have made several visits to the spot where he was but haven't seen him since last Monday so I am assuming that he went back north to mate. He was a great camera model and many photogs will miss him.

Camera stats: Canon 50D, 320ISO, 500mm F/4 +1.4X, F/6.3, 1/200sec

Thanks for looking,

Steve

[Alfred Forns]

Good looking bird Steve Hope he returns for you guys next year !!!

I like the tight crop and intense look, would try toning down some of the white neck feathers. From the bg looks like you had some good overcast and fill light sure helps in those situations !!!!

[Joe Senzatimore]

Real fine image. I'm with Al on toning down the whites just a bit.

[Nate Chappell]

Very nice portrait Steve, I agree that ideally you would use some fill flash here to be able to darken the bg a bit.

[Steve Large]

Thanks for your comments everyone,
It was an overcast day with the basic white sky. I don't usually use a flash on owls however because it can impare their hunting for up to an hour afterwards. None the less, I tried to get the best exposure with the available light.

Thought this guy had gone but it seems that he has just been playing tricks on everyone. I went there after work last night and I noticed that he had returned to his favorite observation perch on top of an old dead maple tree.

Take care,

Steve