Short-eared Owl

Gallery: AvianPosted March 9, 20111,333 views37 comments

Here's our star SEOW two evenings ago just before sundown in the midst of a wing-stretch.

Thanks for looking; your opinions much valued.

1D MkIV, 500mm + 1.4x, 1/800 @ f8, ISO800, tripod, natural light, not baited, perch of its choice. "White bits" left untouched.

Comments

37 comments

Comment posted by John Blumenkamp on March 9, 2011 at 12:53 AM

Excellent KC! Love the light, details and that sweet pose.... great overall composition too.

Registered on February 26, 2011, 58 Posts, 313 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on March 9, 2011 at 2:47 AM

Awesome capture, KC ! Great pose and beautiful light

Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on March 9, 2011 at 3:19 AM

Another beautiful image from you KC....love the detail and the color you have achieved ..and the bird on one leg and one wing open is a great plus. Well Done ..

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on March 9, 2011 at 3:56 AM

Beautiful portrait- Great pose, light and BG- That owl has a pretty aesthetic taste for perches, good for you- Congrats, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 9, 2011 at 4:54 AM

You've got it performing on command now?? Great shot KC - beautiful light and I heartily approve of its selection of perch

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on March 9, 2011 at 5:39 AM

Wonderful composition, beautiful light.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on March 9, 2011 at 7:57 AM

Lovely image. Great light, great perch, great pose. Excellent technical execution.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on March 9, 2011 at 7:59 AM

Awesome pose, great light..Love the head-on POV as well KC.
Nice!!

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on March 9, 2011 at 8:36 AM

That is one terrific pose and the stare toward the camera is wonderful too. Love the warm light. Such a nice clean background and intriguing perch as well.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on March 9, 2011 at 8:54 AM

Fantastic light! Love the pose and the perch. Your choice of composition works well with the outstretched wing and the bird on the left side of the image. Very nice

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

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on March 9, 2011 at 9:31 AM

Easily the best SEOW image I've ever seen... nice composition, gorgeous lighitng, excellent perch and the pose and stare are top notch.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on March 9, 2011 at 10:15 AM

Excellent, Kwan. I like that he's looking off to one side a bit. Beautiful light and pose.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Alan Bryant on March 9, 2011 at 12:36 PM

Awesome light and pose

A very nice image

Registered on March 31, 2006, 473 Posts, 1081 Comments

Comment posted by Larry Reitz on March 9, 2011 at 12:45 PM

This is one of the most awesome pictures I have ever seen. The perch, the light, the pose, what more could a photographer ask for?

Registered on September 7, 2007, 32 Posts, 335 Comments

Comment posted by dan elster on March 9, 2011 at 5:27 PM

Stunning shot! One of the best SE Owl shots I've ever seen! Superb light, pose, perch, backround, sharpness....Did I miss anything?

Registered on September 23, 2005, 299 Posts, 2443 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 9, 2011 at 5:33 PM

Excellent. Lovely light; harmonic understated colors; nice detail; great pose and setting.

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 9, 2011 at 5:44 PM

Super Sweet!!! Excellent photo Kwan

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Backlund on March 9, 2011 at 9:32 PM

I'll just add my

to the others. Beautiful owl!

Registered on September 29, 2005, 252 Posts, 3380 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on March 9, 2011 at 10:48 PM

Hi KC,

Technically perfect and what an adorable little pose :^)

If this had been mine, I might have been tempted to clone out what appears to be that little patch of poop directly below the subject ... but seeing as that might explain the reason why it's in this position in the first place I'd hate to spoil the narrative by doing so - LOL ;^)

Seriously, a beautiful image that makes me smile from ear to ear :^)

Kind regards,

Best regards,

Ashley

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on March 10, 2011 at 1:16 AM

What a great pose KC. Good DOF and nice BG. Nice performance from both you and the owl.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 10, 2011 at 11:30 AM

Outstanding!!

and he can dance

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on March 10, 2011 at 3:11 PM

A gymnast for sure. The pose presents a pleasing sense of visual balance.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Elwood on March 10, 2011 at 7:33 PM

Such beautiful light KC!! Love the composition and pose! Big congrats!

Registered on January 15, 2010, 101 Posts, 396 Comments

Comment posted by James Emerson on March 10, 2011 at 10:34 PM

Fantastic shot!

Registered on February 1, 2011, 10 Posts, 8 Comments

Comment posted by Bryan Hix on March 10, 2011 at 11:21 PM

Awesome light, love the stare and stretched wing as well as your comp. Only suggestion would be to do some whitewash cleanup on the perch. Very nice!

Registered on June 13, 2008, 117 Posts, 755 Comments

Comment posted by David Williams on March 10, 2011 at 11:39 PM

You are really getting into the SEO thing now, KC. I can usually only get them to stretch with a side view, so this is really nice for me. Great light and capture......and it is also nice to see one on something other than a fence post.....must be a coastal thing?

Registered on March 8, 2005, 315 Posts, 2291 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on March 11, 2011 at 9:48 PM

Great pose, interesting perch and great lighting. This is awesome, K.C.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 14, 2011 at 1:37 AM

Super shot Kwan, love the raised talon and spread wing

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on March 16, 2011 at 1:44 PM

Superb pose and wonderful image Kwan. Big congrats on the WP!

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 16, 2011 at 11:38 PM

Congrats on the WP Kwan! Definitely well deserved. Just a terrific shot all the way around.

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

Comment posted by May Haga on March 17, 2011 at 9:38 AM

Sweet pose, sweet light, excellent choice for Weekly Pick. Congratulations on such a fine image.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on March 17, 2011 at 11:44 AM

Beautiful image, KC. Congrats on the well deserved EP.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 18, 2011 at 1:48 AM

Congrats on the EP~
I was sure this would be a strong contender..
Sandy

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 19, 2011 at 10:26 PM

Sweet image, Kwan. A well deserved EP on this one.

I really like the composition and the way the pose works with the perch.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 19, 2011 at 10:27 PM

Congrats Kwan