The detail on the owl looks very good, especially so against that light sky, comp wise I like it but I am also wondering if a vertical comp might have worked even better.
I think Nate is right, a vertical crop would have been better leaving more room at the top and tail. Not sure too about the exposure, seems GHO looks a tad underexposed. Body seems to be more in focus than the face, and bg is very busy. I know it hard to get the ideal shot on these perched on limb tree shots.
Love the stern look you captured here but find the angle a bit steep and not much lighting due to the environment. Perhaps a little fill flash would help bring out more color as the detail looks good. What a thril to see this beauty. Thanks for sharing.
Owls are so tough because they like to obscure themselves in their environment when they're not hunting. Congrats in finding this one somewhat out in the open! Depending on your Photoshop skills, I would try to remove the limb protruding from his head and possibly from his back. More sharpening on the bird might help, too.
As others mentioned, the image is fairly dark. I'm not sure what I would do in this case regarding fill flash. This brings me to a question for the group. A lot of birders are pretty adamant about photographers using flash on owls. I agree that using flash at night would not be a good idea as it could affect its vision and hunting skills. During the day, I don't think a bit of fill would be injurious to the bird's eyes. It may disturb its rest, although, noisy birders milling around an owl roost could also be distracting. What are the impressions here about using flash with owls?
Great Horned Owl
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