Short-eared Owl

[Mike Veltri]

Birding sightings are very slow at this time of the year in Ontario, so it was nice to find a few short eared owls to photograph. This image was taken an hour before sunset.



Canon 1D MarkIII
Canon 500mm F/4 IS
1/1600s
F/5.6
ISO 1600
Hand Held

Thanks for looking
Mike Veltri

[arash_hazeghi]

Very nice head turn, love the yellow eyes. you can lighten up the right eye (left as seen) and sharpen up a little bit. Thanks for sharing!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Amazing owl. Love the eye contact, wing details and BG. If possible I would lighten the right side of the face a little but that is minor.

[Richard Dumoulin]

The eyes are really amazing, great lighting (colors), and sharp photo.

I would like to have one like that in my portfolio!

Do you find these owls near farms area or more in woods area?

Thanks!

[Phil Ertel]

Very nice! I agree with Juan's comments/suggestions. I am jealous of these owl images. Good show and thanks for sharing.

[Harshad Barve]

loved the looks ,
Harshad

[James Salywoda]

Sweet pose captured great wing position nice golden light and perfect detail.....

[Mike Veltri]

Very nice head turn, love the yellow eyes. you can lighten up the right eye (left as seen) and sharpen up a little bit. Thanks for sharing!

I could dodge burn the eye to lighten it up, but I think it might look unreal as the eye is in shadow. This is the problem shooting owls at dusk, you hope they get into the right light when flying. Also I did not want to oversharpen the bird, but an easy fix. Thanks for you comments as they are appreciated.

[Mike Veltri]

The eyes are really amazing, great lighting (colors), and sharp photo.

I would like to have one like that in my portfolio!

Do you find these owls near farms area or more in woods area?

Thanks!

Thanks Richard, these owls are ground birds and are usual found near open fields. The will take grass land birds, and voles. Thanks for your reply it's appreciated.

[Dave Barnes]

Very good capture Mike. I like the eye contact and comp.
Was the original a tad underexposed?

[Mike Veltri]

Very good capture Mike. I like the eye contact and comp.
Was the original a tad underexposed?

No, it was not under exposed Dave.

[Gyorgy Szimuly]

Nice image and nice eye contact. Were you flushing the birds or taken just by surprise?

Szimi

[Stu Bowie]

The direct eye contact makes this Mike, and love the upturned wing. I still need an owl, infact any owl, in my gallery.

[David Fletcher]

Great shot Mike! Love the eye contact.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Killer one this.. loved the eye contact..

[Mike Veltri]

I had set myself up in a postition that the owl could not see me. I could watch the flight patterns and this one just happened to fly over me. He looked, hovered and circled and I was fortunate enough to get a few shots. One of them with the wings down and looking at me as well. Thanks for your intrest and comments, as they are appreicated.
Mike

[Mike Veltri]

Nice image and nice eye contact. Were you flushing the birds or taken just by surprise?

Szimi

I know where they fly at dusk, and was in a position hidden from the birds in tall grass. It just happened that this bird flew towards me not seeing me. He did once he went over me, and hovered for a moment and then circled allowing me a few shots. One of them is with the wings down and looking, unfortunately my lens was on far focus, and I missed a couple while moving the switch. Thanks for your interest, and your comments as they are appreciated.

Mike

[Stephen Earle]

Lovely shot. Light in all the right places.

[Mike Lentz]

WOW Mike, this is a fantastic image of a cool species! Congrats!