Barred Owl

[Raymond Barlow]

D300 / 200-400 VR @ 340mm
1/80 sec, f4, iso 200
Gitzo, Katana Gimbal, slight crop, natural light
cloned out a couple small twigs.

[Randy Stout]

Raymond:

Windblown and wise looking, lovely owl.
Nicely exposed.

I find the bright background a little distracting, and might be tempted to try a vertical cropped version to downplay that effect a bit.

Alternately, you could reduce the brightness of the background on the left.

I assume this was not a captive, since you are so careful about mentioning that.

Randy

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Beautiful composition Raymond and I love that you have included the habitat in this capture. The touches of green at the top adds another lovely dimension to this image. It gives the viewer a much better idea of the where one my find these beautiful birds. Many thanks for sharing.

[Raymond Barlow]

thanks Randy and Judy Lynn, and yes, this is not a captive bird.

[Malcolm Benn]

Beautiful image Ray, I like how the perch reaches out to the viewer and the seperation between the bird and the tree. Sure looks like it was COLD.

[denise ippolito]

Raymond. The almost squinted stare is great. I love the pine needles at the top. Very nice details and I like the composition.:)

[Paul Lagasi]

Ray another beaut..I went down on Tuesday but had little luck (snow and wind) on way home did manage a Saw-whet on Amherst...I too like the habitat look to this image..Owl color looks a little light but that could just be my crappy work monitor...TFS

[Binu John]

Very beautiful image, Raymond. Have you tried vertical composition?

[James Salywoda]

Fantastic setting and shot Ray such beautiful bird excellent work my friend.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the inclusion of the environment, eye contact, angle and sharpness. I could see this as a vertical crop, too, but really like it as presented.

[Joe Senzatimore]

Love this as is. The habitat is wonderful as is the green framing the Owl. I too think it might be just a touch bright but still a great one.

[Raymond Barlow]

Very beautiful image, Raymond. Have you tried vertical composition?

Thanks very much, this is a different shot, slightly different angle., I like both, but the landscape fits better on my monitor!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

On second look, the head looks slightly blueish in the original post, maybe a slightly higher color temperature and midtone adjustment to darken it a tad?

[Art Kornienko]

Hi Ray, lovely owl shot, I much prefer the vertical crop, it seems to attract more to the bird, and I would crop out the branch on the right that looks like it is sticking into the bird.

[Raymond Barlow]

On second look, the head looks slightly blueish in the original post, maybe a slightly higher color temperature and midtone adjustment to darken it a tad?

thanks bud, just sent you an email.

[Raymond Barlow]

Hi Ray, lovely owl shot, I much prefer the vertical crop, it seems to attract more to the bird, and I would crop out the branch on the right that looks like it is sticking into the bird.

thanks Art., they are 2 totally different shots, but I tend to agree, and I think your right about the branch too.

[Binu John]

Thanks very much, this is a different shot, slightly different angle., I like both, but the landscape fits better on my monitor!

Excellent shot Raymond! I like the vertical one. The eyes are fully open and the background is awsome.

[Jim Crosswell]

Two beautiful images Ray! I like the vertical crop just a little more than the other image.

[Raymond Barlow]

thanks to Axel!! I sent the raw file to the expert, and the learning continues!