Great Horned Owl juvie
by Mia McPherson
Bubo virginianus
This was taken at Ron Dudley's family farm in northern Montana this past summer while we were up there visiting. A pair of nesting owls have been there for a long time. This image was created in evening light in between thunderstorms while the juvenile Great Horned Owl sat on a window of an old granary. Nothing about the granary is plumb, it leans this way and that. I love the weather worn wood and how well the owl stands out from the dark interior of the granary through the opening.
D200, tripod mounted, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 280mm, natural light, not baited or set up. 80% of the original frame. Minimal post processing, sharpening for web. Larger version provided.
As always, I sincerely appreciate your comments & critiques. Thank you for looking and taking the time to evaluate my image.
Comments
24 commentsThe details, colors, and light look fab - Like that country theme too
Well done!
I like everything about it, except I wonder about the, um, dribble(?) immediately beneath the owl...
Your comment about the "dribble" made me laugh, I should have mentioned what that was in my original post, I'm fasting for medical tests this morning and my head is not quite clear, I'd love a cuppa joe! Any way, the "dribble" is from a previous meal and is the blood from a gopher.
Charlie, the Dudley family farm has been around for generations, the granary was built in the 1930's by either Ron's grandfather, uncle or both. Considering the strong winds on the Montana plains I'm surprised it is atill standing at all. The farm is an awesome place to wander through the barley fields, pastures, the creek and even better I get to poke around in the very old vehhicles still on the property. I love going there, but not in winter to -40 degree F temps.
Jules, you bring up a good subject that everyone here might learn something about.
I know that you might not be familiar with the north american great horned owl juveniles at this age and phase of plumage. Their feathers are very soft & downy at this age and there is a fine line between being sharp and being over sharpened. As I always prefer my images to look as close to natural with this species I tend to allow for the natural softness in the plumage during post processing but if you look at the bill, talons and eyes they are sharp, also if I tried to get the barn wood any sharper I'd be worried about getting a splinter if I touched my screen.
As for the light & shadows in the eye, this was taken at 6:28 pm and in northern Montana that means that sunset was probably more than 4 hours away (when I was sound asleep getting ready for shooting the next day), so the shadow is quite natural given the angle of the sun.
The old weathered and crooked barn wood perfectly frame this awkward young bird
Thanks for the smile on my face!
I love the owls look in general and here too. I really like the weathered wood and the comp works well for me.
Ron didn't post this exact juvie Owl, I'll explain how I know that for you. This particular GHOW brood had three chicks and they were extremely easy to tell apart, one that had an obvious wing injury, this one and then a younger sibling to the two who wasn't as big as this one. Ron's image taken on a different day and in the early morning light was the youngest & smallest of the three fledglings and still has not developed the "ear tufts" that the other two had, and this was taken in a different granary window. (see the knots in the wood). You can check his gallery.
No donut for you, but close
Pretty funny Rich M, since I don't see that you commented on Ron's Owl?
Ok, enough fun, gotta run!
As for the "dribble"...I'm not much of a PS guy in terms of cloning/editing, but the one exception I sometimes make is to clone out "dribble"!! Although the "dribble" in this case isn't an issue for me, as much as "white dribble" you sometimes see.
I also had a big smile when I saw that face.
The old grainery (granery? - both spellings apparently correct) wood is gorgeous, and the bird sitting in the opening is exceptional.
Seems just a bit over-sharpened from here.. ?
Sandy
- Luke
Danny
Ron Huff
I do see a dot in the black @ 10 o'clock from the owl. Not sure what it is. I might clone that out.
Thanks for picking up on the spot you mentioned, I hadn't seen it, actually had to look at my screen slightly sideways to pick it up. Not sure what it is, might have been something hanging from the rafters of the granary, I'll clean that up before archiving or printing.
Thanks again!