Great Horned Owl

[BCrose]

Great Horned Owl. Very large, probably 30 inches tall in my estimate.
He turned and flew away behind the tree, this is the only shot I got.

Nikon 200-400mm at 400mm
f/4, 1/1600, ISO 800

[Dave Humphries]

Very nice Monte,

I'm still searching for my first wild owl shot

Is it that blue colour is that a 'blue sky illuminating the front' issue with the camera WB being set for sunny?
As it seems it was, from behind the bird.

Cheers,

[BCrose]

Very nice Monte,

I'm still searching for my first wild owl shot

Is it that blue colour is that a 'blue sky illuminating the front' issue with the camera WB being set for sunny?
As it seems it was, from behind the bird.

Cheers,

The Owl was in deep shadows and I lifted it out in Lightroom. Probably why the color is off.
I noticed it as well but never bothered correcting it. I will see what I can do next time I am editing images.

UPDATE: I did a quick edit in Lightroom and choose shade as the WB. I had to tone that back as it was too warm. This version is kind of in the middle.

[jeeperman]

Nicely caught, Monte. Nice eye contact. Second is better.

[botspur]

Hi Monte, if this is the only shot you got well done. Second image is much better and composed nicely. What is up with those eyes? I didn't know owls eyes moved indepentantly like that.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Yea, beautiful shot. I also prefer the reworked version. It has a nice atmosphere; I almost feel like I am there! I can always tell a shot is great if it gives me an emotional reaction or reminds me of an experience I have had.

[Suzan J]

Great shot. I also prefer the 2nd version with the warmer feel to it. It appears that the light was behind the bird. What type of metering did you use for this shot? Just curious as I had taken an owl shot some time ago with a similar light situation and the subject was too dark. I was advised to try spot metering in those circumstances.

[jprzybyla]

Good work Monte, I also prefer the reworked version.

[NorthernFocus]

Nice shot with the backlighting. Rework is an improvement IMO. Nicely done.

[cliffmccartney]

Great shot Monte. I prefer the reworked version. Very nice.

Very sharp and detailed, small catchlight in the eyes, and good background. I don't think it needs a thing, but I'd be curious to see what it looks like without the small limb sicking up just right of center.

Well done!