Evening Owl + Repost

Gallery: AvianPosted July 17, 2014155 views14 comments

Late Evening Little Owl
My Owls didn't breed this year but are still around the farm. I left them alone to avoid disturbance as much as possible but they didn't breed anyway, I have had 7 boxes up over the pasr 3 years and not one has been used. They are very picky.
This was taken in the late evening sun so I put it through Colour Washer and it corrected what appeared to be a colour cast. (But it was the evening sun !!)
Beats me- so this pic has lost the effect of when and what it was taken. Maybe some vegetation is obtrusive but its as it was.
D7000
ISO 650
F8 600th sec/ 70 % of frame
Neat image.. Image Guru. Bibble white balance.
The branch and the dock on the left look a bit bright maybe.
Sorry about lack of participation of late but the piscatorial pleasure season is upon us !! Had an 11 LB barbel last week.yippee !! Also massive it probs yet again !!
Cheers
JohnR

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Marina Scarr on July 17, 2014 at 9:40 PM

Lovely image, John. I really like all the included habitat and the direct state by the owl. The perch has a lot of character and adds a lot to the image.

Registered on March 6, 2014, 11 Posts, 104 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on July 17, 2014 at 10:57 PM

Stunning image. Classic owl pose, great habitat and a really nice perch

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on July 18, 2014 at 12:13 AM

Great look at this Owl John, sweet pose and perch. The lovely lighting from the evening sun served you well and with the post processing you did looks very nice on my monitors
I find the oof vegetation on the far left is too bright plus the dof does not match the rest of the darker BG and adds little to this image. If it were mine, I would eliminate it with a square crop.
Hopefully your Owls will be using those boxes next season.
Well done . . .

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by Martin Dunn on July 18, 2014 at 5:41 AM

neat shot John. Lovely pose, lovely perch and great detail.
The colours look a tiny bit flat, but that coudl be down to the colour washer you mentioned.
I would also crop a bit from the left to get rid of the dock - but that's just personal preference.

Registered on February 20, 2013, 198 Posts, 1011 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on July 18, 2014 at 7:53 AM

Thanks all
Martin - I used the picker tool in colour wash just to check the white balance on the wing markings. I did want to try to keep the evening sunlight effect. I wasn't sure about the Dock but it can go !! I,ll post a re post later
Cheers
John

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on July 18, 2014 at 10:07 PM

I like the pose, head turn and perch in this John. I agree the colors look a bit wished out. If it were mine, I might bring up the shadows a bit, add some contrast and add back some of that evening light by warming this image up a tad. Looking forward to seeing the repost you talk about below.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on July 19, 2014 at 10:04 AM

I,ve taken the bright dock out from the left and tidied up a little.
Looking atit now though the loss of the dock has maybe taken some of the late sunlight effect away ! WDYT
Cheers
JohnR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 19, 2014 at 1:22 PM

Beautiful detail in the Little Owl, John and I love the perch. The dock was a bit distracting, and you did a nice job removing it. You mentioned Colour Washer removing the late evening light-did you go back to the original to get it back? That's the problem with software-it always wants to make the world grey!

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

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on July 19, 2014 at 3:57 PM

John,
Very nice on the re-post, both are excellent images.

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on July 20, 2014 at 9:15 AM

Thanks for looking all - Appreciated.
JohnR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on July 20, 2014 at 10:30 PM

John,
Sorry I missed this earlier, this is a great image, truly natural

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on July 22, 2014 at 8:19 AM

Nice one John - love that setting

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Rogers on July 23, 2014 at 3:28 PM

Hello John.

Love the re-post.

Love the setting and the lighting is also very nice and the pose from the owl just couldn't be better.

Registered on January 16, 2007, 450 Posts, 995 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on July 23, 2014 at 8:12 PM

Thanks again. I must admit my endeavours to get a "natural" feel seem to be working from your appreciated comments. Its not always easy - especially with my rubbish gear (according to the big boys !!)
Guy -Thanks - good to see your still around !! Will PM you
I have literally hundreds of shots but feel it gets boring after a while
People start to relieve the boredom by trying to get "something different"- but then its all been done before. Little Owls looking at a bowl of mealworms are sometimes construed as "hunting " I used to do it then found there was no need. Little Owls will sit on your head if you stay still long enough !!!
Cheers
John

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments