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MichelA said:
...Would appreciate your constructive criticism. Think about it this way - what would you change so that you would enjoy hanging them on your wall.
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This shot of the three owls in the cleft of rock is pretty good. Perhaps crop it to a typical 4x6 format with space removed from the bottom. Then I'd start by stretching white/black points to increase contrast. And sharpen.

Some suggestions have already been made for the barn owl to enhance contrast and sharpen. In addition I'd crop the right side up close to the bird's tail.

I'd have to see the full frame of the long eared owl to recommend anything. The other two are pretty much documentary IMO.
 
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DRwyoming said:
I'm fascinated by owls of every shape and size and love it when I can find one in the wild to photograph. Sometimes I find them by noticing small birds mobbing them and follow the racket, sometimes I spot likely owl nests throughout the year, especially if there's signs of recent white wash and owl pellets on the ground and sometimes I cruise around likely owl habitat in late winter on cross country skis and notice where owls are nesting for the year. But I sure love capturing images of owls any time of year.

Here's a Burrowing Owl shot by the roadside in Central Washington who was kind enough to pose for me for a while in soft evening light.

600mm f/4 with TC-14 @850mm, f/5.6, 1/200", ISO 160

View attachment 1875

So what Owls are other folks seeing and capturing on their sensors?
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Awesome image. I love those little guys. Never had the pleasure of seeing one in person.
 
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I've only got two species in my portfolio.

Short eared owl shot at Palmer Hay Flats, Alaska
p2822021615-5.jpg


Snowy owl shot near Casselman, Ontario, Canada
p2822021614-5.jpg
 
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DRwyoming said:
I'm fascinated by owls of every shape and size and love it when I can find one in the wild to photograph. Sometimes I find them by noticing small birds mobbing them and follow the racket, sometimes I spot likely owl nests throughout the year, especially if there's signs of recent white wash and owl pellets on the ground and sometimes I cruise around likely owl habitat in late winter on cross country skis and notice where owls are nesting for the year. But I sure love capturing images of owls any time of year.

Here's a Burrowing Owl shot by the roadside in Central Washington who was kind enough to pose for me for a while in soft evening light.

600mm f/4 with TC-14 @850mm, f/5.6, 1/200", ISO 160

View attachment 1875

So what Owls are other folks seeing and capturing on their sensors?
Click to expand...
Love seeing all these Owls so beautifully photographed.

I haven't seen a Galapagos Owl posted yet so here is one (these are only found in the Galapagos Islands):

D3S w/80-400 f/4.5-5.6 @ 400mm
f/8, 1/400sec, iso 800

JIM

3SE_3357-web.jpg
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Had been watching this Great Horned Owl sitting up on its nest for about half an hour when it's chick poked out from underneath the wing and gave me this big yawn.

Nikon D850, 600mm(1.2x crop mode) f/4 + TC-14 iii, f/5.6, 1/400", ISO 1800
850_6169--20210424-Edit-Edit.jpg
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Member's gallery
DRwyoming said:
I'm fascinated by owls of every shape and size and love it when I can find one in the wild to photograph. Sometimes I find them by noticing small birds mobbing them and follow the racket, sometimes I spot likely owl nests throughout the year, especially if there's signs of recent white wash and owl pellets on the ground and sometimes I cruise around likely owl habitat in late winter on cross country skis and notice where owls are nesting for the year. But I sure love capturing images of owls any time of year.

Here's a Burrowing Owl shot by the roadside in Central Washington who was kind enough to pose for me for a while in soft evening light.

600mm f/4 with TC-14 @850mm, f/5.6, 1/200", ISO 160

View attachment 1875

So what Owls are other folks seeing and capturing on their sensors?
Click to expand...
Here is an owl I chased around in the Smoky Mountains till he finally sat still for a minute.

D500 w/200-500 f/5.6 @ 300mm
f/5.6, 1/300sec, iso 1600

JIM


51A_1683-crop-web.jpg
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untitled-0623.jpg
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I have been trying for years to get some decent flight shots of Barred Owls at a local woodland but the canopy cover and time of day they choose to be active conspire to make that very difficult. I would be happy with a single bird in the viewfinder but last week when this male, in front here, took off the female immediately sprang out of her nest, followed and tried to "put the boot to him". o_O It was late in the evening with fading light, I literally had a split second to react and, in turn, the whole sequence was over in another two seconds. The D6/300mm PF proved the right tool. (1/1000, f4, ISO 12800) Had I been able to react faster still, to have avoided the left wing clip, I'd have been really pleased.
 
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I'd agree with Hut above, it looks like a Barred Owl with those dark eyes and yellow beak. It's coloring is darker than the Barred Owls we see out here but the only other owl I can think of that has similar eyes, beak and markings is the Spotted Owl and the Smokies is way out of their range.
 
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Hut said:
It looks like a Barred owl judging by location.
Best left undisturbed if possible
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Thank you Hut.

JIM
DRwyoming said:
I'd agree with Hut above, it looks like a Barred Owl with those dark eyes and yellow beak. It's coloring is darker than the Barred Owls we see out here but the only other owl I can think of that has similar eyes, beak and markings is the Spotted Owl and the Smokies is way out of their range.
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Thanks Dave.

JIM
 
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Cristobal said:
So beautiful capture DRwyoming!
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Thanks Cristobal. I visited the nest again this morning, the chicks stayed out of sight tucked up under mom's wings and the light was tricky but a convenient cloud over the sun softened things up and gave me some light on her eyes.

Nikon D5 (1.2x crop mode), 600mm f/4 + TC-14 iii, f/6.3, 1/320", ISO 2000
D51_5204--20210427-Edit.jpg
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DRwyoming said:
Thanks Cristobal. I visited the nest again this morning, the chicks stayed out of sight tucked up under mom's wings and the light was tricky but a convenient cloud over the sun softened things up and gave me some light on her eyes.
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A wee bit spooky. I have to think you're going to be set for some great owlet shots in the next few weeks.
 
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Marcus Slade said:
A wee bit spooky. I have to think you're going to be set for some great owlet shots in the next few weeks.
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I only visit active nests every three to five days or so to minimize stress but I'm hoping the chicks will start venturing out before too long. I know there will be a period when the chicks are on the nest and the parents are out hunting but I'm hoping for some shots with both the chicks and an adult in the nest or the chicks in their branchling phase.
 
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