Prairie Snowy

Gallery: AvianPosted March 28, 2015158 views10 comments

Thought I'd share another snowy from the Canadian prairies with you. We had nearly given up on getting any images of snowies on something other than power poles on this wintery day when my wife spotted this beautiful female perched on a wonderfully rolling fenceline.

I'll have to have another look at the folder of images from this shoot as after processing this one I remembered I took the time to shift the focus up and down the fence line to do a focus stack. What can I say...I get a little bored on the prairies and have to fill my time sometimes.

Have a look at the LARGER version if you have time...I think it's a much better look at this beautiful owl.

Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 500mm f/4D IF-ED
ISO 1000
1/640sec @ f/7.1
+1.0 EV
mounted on Kirk window mount with Acratech GV2 ballhead
Full frame

Light adjustments to colour balance, with selective adjustments to brightness and contrast, light dodging.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on March 28, 2015 at 8:51 AM

Hi John:

Another pleasing image from up north. My eyes were of course drawn to the owl with the nice leading lines generated by the fence line. Then my eyes were drawn to the OOF barbed wire on the left up to the second post. The OOF post on the left didn't grab my attention. The middle ground fence is something I'm struggling with. Tried to decide if it added or hindered the image. I pulled the larger version and removed it. At least for me, I think the image is stronger without it, but certainly not a deal breaker. Cool opportunity. Thanks for sharing

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 28, 2015 at 9:13 AM

I really like the subtle colors of the grasses and the multiple flowing fence lines receding into the distance here, John. They make a fine rolling prairie setting for this Snowy. Yes, the larger version lets the owl stand out better from the background.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on March 28, 2015 at 11:40 AM

Hello John,

The larger version is wonderful: the atmosphere, the scenery, the owl - you all have it ! Very pleasant to look at ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Frye on March 28, 2015 at 1:56 PM

White on white with excellent detail -- lot to like about this phoho

Registered on February 3, 2007, 387 Posts, 1136 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Morris on March 28, 2015 at 3:34 PM

John, great scene all the way around. I love the way the fence leads me to the subject and the owl is not too large in the shot. The fact that the owl is sitting on the tallest fencepost helps I think.

Registered on January 23, 2015, 38 Posts, 104 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on March 28, 2015 at 4:13 PM

John Love this shot. Fence, Owl, snow. Only suggestion would be a tonal adjustment on the high key to get more variation in the snow. A little too blown out and I think recoverable to a degree.

Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 28, 2015 at 4:30 PM

John, I do like this much better in the large version. However, I do wish you would have cropped it down to about 75% of this scene. I don't think the OOF post or the top of the frame add much to the image or comp. I personally think if you did a cropped version, it would really make this special.

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

Comment posted by John Launstein on March 28, 2015 at 6:15 PM

Thanks for your comments and suggestions, everyone!

Keith: I never could decide if that background fence helped or hindered, but I couldn't do much other than position myself to make it a bit of a leading line and ensure it was OOF in the shot and didn't pick up contrast in post.

Gary: whites are not blown--held under 220 on the original exposure with only the brightest whites lightened here...I made a pass through Nik for details and highlight contrast as well as tweaked selective curves. I think this is about as much enhancement as I'm willing to give it. Overcast days at dusk on the prairies leads to very featureless snow in my experience. But I do appreciate the suggestion and worked on that specifically to get it to this point.

Kurt: interesting...I think that's how Jenaya framed it! ;) I'm getting used to being one-upped by her, though. :)

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 28, 2015 at 10:44 PM

Nice one, John. I do like the fence line, it really adds some interest and makes for a nice composition. Excellent Snowy habitat.

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

Comment posted by Lucy Aron on April 15, 2015 at 11:10 AM

Lovely minimalist shot. Agree a crop would strengthen the already fine image.

Registered on February 25, 2011, 189 Posts, 1160 Comments