Queen of the Hill + Repost

Gallery: AvianPosted November 24, 2017170 views8 comments

I went up to Saginaw Bay early this morning to find some snowy owls. First stop and this first year female snowy was perched on top of a gravel pile at eye level. I kept my distance so she would not get frightened and fired away. I was about 50 feet away and probably could have approached closer, but would not have been ethical. She was relaxed and only opened her eyes whenever a car or truck entered the parking area. There have been some very rude and ruthless photographers that have been throwing mice and rocks at snowy owls to get in flight shots at another location in the west side of Michigan. K5 IIs 600 mm f5.6 (1/1250 sec at f7.1, Iso 640) Levels, Shadows & Highlights, Topaz Detail and cropped off 25% for the comp................Jim

I tweaked up the contrast in the reposted version according to Sandy's critique........................Jim

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 24, 2017 at 2:34 PM

Sweet, Jim. Sounds like you're having an irruption year back there. Too bad about the idiots. Nice to catch one with both eyes open. The last time we had them here I had trouble with that.

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

Comment posted by David Schoen on November 24, 2017 at 3:21 PM

Clearly a bonus being able to get a clean shot of an owl like this. Your detail and pose are superb. Exposure is right on. I typically run into the same problem Dennis had with Great Horned Owls in the image posted next to yours.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on November 25, 2017 at 10:21 AM

Beautiful bird in a nice pose!. From here, it looks a little washed-out - I find that the "shadow tool" often does that. A bit more contrast would help. I might also darken the rock at the bottom to give more definition.
Really sweet image!
Sandy.

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Shirley Freeman on November 25, 2017 at 11:52 AM

Beautiful owl, and you captured him so well, Jim. His perch is perfect to go with his feathers. I have not experienced that so far with other photographers. Sorry to hear that. We need to respect the wildlife and they will allow us to get somewhat close, and should they fly up, then we get the shot, otherwise, be satisfied with what is in front our lens that day. I still haven't had an owl pose for me yet! One day.

Registered on May 27, 2017, 77 Posts, 844 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on November 25, 2017 at 2:11 PM

Thank you for the comments and critiques. I bumped up the contrast a hair and selectively darkened the dark areas with a curves adjustment on the darks luminosity mask.............................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 25, 2017 at 6:31 PM

The repost certainly pops better, Jim. Nice work.

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on November 25, 2017 at 7:11 PM

This is a species I miss from my days in NJ. A clean/simple shot with no unnecessary elements I agree the original is a bit low in contrast and that the repost adds more drama. Perhaps methnig half way between?

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on November 26, 2017 at 11:33 AM

Nice shot , and great species. Sad to read about the behavior of others... As long as there's people there will be fools.... surprise

.... Cheers, Hans

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