Barn Owl

Wossa

I sometimes see this Barn Owl when I am walking the dog in the evening. I have been trying to get an image of it for so long but it's been so difficult, but I had better luck at the weekend when it flew past a little closer than normal. A touch grainy than I would of liked but the light was poor as it was a winters evening and I had to jack the ISO up.

puzzledpaul

Well, fwiw, I like it.
Yes, we've had the odd bit of 'challenging' weather / light here recently, so this is a pretty good stab at making the most of what you saw, imo.
There'll be those who'd prefer a different wing position (even tho' this shows detail) ... but there's nowt that can be done about that now
Only other comment would be associated with possibly cropping a bit off the top of frame?

The bit of blue sky in top L corner + mass of darker tree in front of the owl pull my eye a tad - whilst cropping just below the the lowest bit of blue sky will also put the bird closer to top of frame, I think it looks better (I did it by adjusting image in browser window) ... or a bit off LHS and sliver off the top to get rid of the blue, which jarrs with the rest of the colour palette (to me, anyway

Whilst having it flying tho a few rays of dying sun would've been great, it's still the sort of pic that appeals to me...

Great to (just) watch hunting tho, too.

pp

Wossa

Thanks Paul, great feedback.....you are absolutely right, the sky is a little off putting.

The sky was a darkish grey, it would of been nice to get that evening sun but it was just too cloudy......maybe next time.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

puzzledpaul

Forgot to say the obvious first time, btw ... could also clone that bit of sky out as the bg in that region would make it a fairly easy job - but such suggestions also depend on how people feel about mucking about with w/l pics, too

Apols for ranting on about such a small area, but I feel the same about similar things in my own pics ... like waterfowl preening and leaving their darned feathers in the water to render as oof blobs ... dunno why they can't put them in the waste bins

pp

Stumblebum

I am waiting for my first owl shot so this one is an amazing catch and beautiful owl! I agree with Paul's commentary above and couple of pointers on fixing background would be to clone as he mentioned, you can also lighten the super dark areas and you can also use wide brush stroke to soften the areas and turns it into a creamy bokeh. Cropping is key also, but sometimes option is not applicable or not available because cropping any more can cause the picture to be pixilated. Great shot nonetheless! Since I have never photographed any owl, I don't know if they fly fast or not! So getting it like this is pretty awesome!

fool4thecity

Who cares about a little noise. I think we get a little too crazy about it. Remember film had grain? I agree with the sky in the left upper corner; crop it out. Love the image, great job to capture a fleeting moment.