40D. 400f5.6L at f/6.3. iso400. 1/100s. bean bag for support. almost full frame. in-camera vertical.
I had positioned myself to get the light on my back but the bird wasn't giving me the full head turn. had to move a little to the left. A slow, cold and windy Sunday morning in the countryside. traffic was pretty much nonexistent...glad I could lay flat in the middle of the road :-) FG is OOF road.
Let me comment (even if i haven't shown a photo up to now):
Really nice colors (execpt for the lower FG) and not the typical pose.
It's really sad that you could change the angle to get the lower part of the owl visible.
I agree with Marina the FG districts quite a bit. I believe it's especially obvious as the color (gray) does not match any other area in the photo.
I assume cutting of the gray area (and probably also a slight bit on top as well to get the balance in the photo again)
Last edited by Markus Hanika; 02-28-2012 at 03:40 PM.
Agree with FG issue - I find myself looking at it and wondering what it is rather than looking at the bird. Nice light and of course a great species. You have so many good images of this species I would not keep his one.
Higher angle would not have worked here. BG would have been quite ugly. I can always crop this shot to get rid of FG...but to balance it out, I'll have to get rid of the top part of the BG...which has the best colors. For sake of balance and virtual tail, I have to keep the FG in.
What I can do is selectively fix the color of the FG. Since it is shade, it is very cool..can warm it up a bit. will do that at home tonight.
You sure got some gorgeous light that morning and the catch light shows how low the sun was.
I like the comp, the warmth and the dof. Sharpness is perfect too.
The contrasting fg makes it a bit tricky but it did grow on me - a definite keeper in my book.
If this were mine I would kiss myself constantly but would also crop so that there is just a smidgin of the somewhat disagreeable foreground. Perhaps this is too facile a suggestion for some of the more elevated but anyhow to my eye(s) it looks quite good...
Stunning owl! Holy cats! Well done...
Excellent image. Love the soft warm morning light and the refelection of the sunrise in its eye is superb. Very nice detail, great background, and I personally think your repost fixed the FG problem.
Very well done.
Hi KD, I just love the light and warm colours in this, and your traditional low angle has turned out well. With regards to the FG, although not ideal, but when one casts your eye over the owl, the FG tends to 'disappear'. I will take this any day, and warming up the FG in your repost although subtle, works for me.