Great Horned Owl (c)

[Raymond Barlow]

Taken at last Fridays workshop near Milton Ontario.
The wind and the rain made things interesting!
Maybe too much perch, and not enough room on top?

Tripod, natural light, slight crop.
D300 / 200-400 VR @ 400mm
1/50 sec, f4, iso 250

[denise ippolito]

Raymond, I love this image.The rain and lighting are very nice. For me I would add a bit to the top.But this is sweet!!

[Jamie Strickland]

great photo, I love the rain, I would keep the tree as is and add some to the top if possible

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

I agree with your own self critique. The rain adds lots to this image. Love the way the owl is seeing that way.

[Graham Smith.]

You sure got some nice images out of this workshop! (went to your website)
The rain and evident wind here are quite nice. The slow ss and rain works well. Crop is perhaps a little tight for my liking.

[Ramon M. Casares]

This is just superb, the mood is simply wonderfull, those rain drops put it over the top. Congratulaitons!

[David Fletcher]

Yup. Some for the top, but otherwise, I just love this. powerful and has depth and the rain adds a lot. great stuff Ray.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Powerful image, love the suggestion of raindrops. Agree with more room at the top

[Michael Zajac]

Gorgeous BG and details. This is a really nice shot!! I think more room up top also.

[Marc Mol]

Love this image Ray, the ear tufts & feathers bent in the wind and rain take this a class above!
You've answered your own 2 critiques.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I normally like a bit more room, but in this case I love the comp as is. The tree has such character that I'm glad you left lots of it in. Of course the rain is very cool, so are the windswept tufts. Well done Ray!

[Steve Large]

Hi Ray,
Nice to see you posting again on a regular basis. I have always enjoyed your work both on and off of BPN. I think the rain drops really give a nice atmosphere to the shot as does the detail in the talons and feathers. Is that the owl they call "Chomper"?

Steve

[Kiran Poonacha]

Great setting, loved the feel here, good pose and details too.. one more vote for bit more room, but loved this.. congrats..

[Raymond Barlow]

thanks for all the cool comments., yes, a titch more room at the top is in order i think... might need to add some canvas.

Hi Ray,
Nice to see you posting again on a regular basis. I have always enjoyed your work both on and off of BPN. I think the rain drops really give a nice atmosphere to the shot as does the detail in the talons and feathers. Is that the owl they call "Chomper"?

Steve

thanks Steve, very much appreciated. Chomper is just a little too grumpy around long lenses!!, and I do not remember this one's name, sorry.

Hutton and Echo really put on a show... more of them next time.

[Greg Basco]

Raymond, I think this is fine as is in terms of composition. And the lighting and the rain make for a super dramatic portrait. This is just a fantastic image.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[paul leverington]

Hey Ray--The rain is still a little bit to streaky for my tastes but other than that I love everything else about this one. I can appreciate the head turned away from us expiriments your going for--I think they add a totoally different feel to the picture--and this one works well for me. Nice how the direction of the rain is the same as the direction of his gaze and seems to be the source of great power here. I find that very interesting and something to try for more in the future, and something I will start paying more attention to myself. I don't see anything terribly wrong at all with the crop, room at the top, or ammount of perch--they all look in balance and comfortable to me.

Paul

[Raymond Barlow]

thanks Greg and Paul.

Paul, it is not often that I find myself shooting owl portraits in the pouring rain, so this is a learning experience for sure... I have several frames during this "moment", and I will go back and see if I have anything with the streaks being less dominant.

i would tend to agree .. they are a bit long, and a shorter shutter speed would help., and I will keep this in mind. We have a shoot tomorrow up north with a Saw-whet, and some animals, they are calling for rain, so this could prove to be interesting., I will make note, and help my clients be aware, so this can become part of their creative process.

Thanks for your insight.