Great Horned Owl

Gallery: AvianPosted April 26, 201099 views6 comments

I came across this Great Horned Owl and an owlet that I'm guessing was 6-8 weeks old, at the Ridgefield WA NWR. The ideal capture would have been both in the same frame, but the owlet was lower, to right and obscured by several branches. This view of the adult wss fairly clear, I did clone out 3 small branches in front of the belly and right wing side. Larger image available, thanks for viewing.

canon 7D
canon 600mm f4.L IS USM + 1.4TC
F/11 1/250 ISO 640
Auto window beanbag rest

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 26, 2010 at 6:39 PM

Very nice, Craig. The owl stands out well from the included habitat.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Moore on April 26, 2010 at 9:16 PM

Very good detail Craig. A little motion up top. The detail in the branches is super nice.

Dan

Registered on February 11, 2010, 143 Posts, 1248 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on April 26, 2010 at 9:25 PM

Rich colors in both bird and perch. Nice capture! I like how you positioned your cr, too...didn't even see it there at first! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on April 27, 2010 at 1:53 AM

I would be very happy with this Craig. When I first looked at the photo I thought, it's amazing that he got such an unobstructed view, considering the dense tangle in the background, so maybe a few branches in front wouldn't be so bad if you decided to leave a couple.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on April 27, 2010 at 1:49 PM

That's a lot of focal length to work with Graig! f/11 was an excellent choice to ensure enough DOF with this set-up. I like the detail and classic owl pose as well as your balanced comp. As someone who does not normally do cloning of obscuring branches etc, I too am left wondering how obstructive those branches in front of the owl really were. I would suggest to try to darken the highlights in the BG a bit to reduce the distracting effect.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on April 28, 2010 at 12:53 AM

Are your Great Horns darker down that way? I don't know the subspecies at all... Nice capture in habitat, cool perch and comp; a bit of motion blur (?) in the right "ear" tuft.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments