Theme/Burrowing Owl-Who's in there?

[John Hawkins]

Taken today in Cape Coral,FL. I used my Sony A700 and Sigma 50-500 lens, Data=ISO 400, 420mm, 0ev, f/8, 1/1250.

[allanrube]

Very nice capturing the entire bird, including its interesting feet. I would work on the left eye a bit, perhaps add a bit of contrast.

A friend from Cape Coral said the city mows the grass for its annual festival so this is a good time to shoot them.

[Terry Olmsted]

I like the pose very much, as well as the lighting. Although one eye is brighter than the other, to me this looks very natural. Great detail and wonderful capture!
Terry

[Joerg Rockenberger]

I hope you don't mind me pointing out that the focus was clearly on the legs. The head itself looks OOF to me and appears to have been selectively (over) sharpened making it look rather contrasty... JR

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love these guys!! If I'd live near Cape Coral I'd be photographing them way too often I think!!

I like the inquisitive pose, and the full view right down to the feet. The light looks quite harsh however, and moving right just a bit more would have given you better light angle thus making it easier on the exposure with more even lighting on the subject. I agree the feet look like the sharpest part of the owl.

[Herb Houghton]

Nice eye contact John. Daniel had a few nice suggestions on changing the angle and the focus on the feet. I like the pose too.

[John Hawkins]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. This was between 8:30 and 9:00 AM. Sun was over my right shoulder. If I moved more to the right, then there would of been a white pole behind the owl,it is just out of the frame. I focused manually on his beak and just as I pushed the shutter he moved his head down as if to see what is in that glass, hence the legs are more in focus than the head. But I liked his curious look.

[Andy Nguyen]

John, I do like the look of the owl. However, there are parts of the image that I'd darken a bit, such as the left eye & eyebrow, left cheek, breast, and right leg. A lower angle will isolate the subject even more IMHO.

Andy