On the Edge (Great Grey)

Gallery: AvianPosted November 9, 2015159 views11 comments

Hi all! Finally digging into some of our files from the summer and had a difficult time narrowing the images down from this session...this owl was just ridiculously cooperative, which allowed Jenaya, Josiah and I to tweak our shots to our heart's content in multiple scenes/perches. When it flew to this perch on the edge of the forest/edge of the meadow, with the soft evening light panting the scene, we all thanked the owl sincerely between and during the picture frenzy that followed.

At some point I had the bright idea of swapping my 500mm with Jenaya for her 300mm to show more of the forest surrounding the owl, as seen here.

This is nearly full-frame, cropped to about 90-95% from the bottom and right. As the image was captured at dusk, I wanted to keep that feel as recorded in the RAW file rather than brighten the image significantly.

Beyond any general comments and suggestions, I would love to know if these trees are aspen or other members of the poplar family...any tree gurus here?

Many thanks in advance...please view the larger file for best colour and overall tonality.

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Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR
ISO 500
1/160sec @ f/4
-1.0EV
Mounted on FEISOL CT-3372 Elite tripod with Acratech GV2 ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on November 9, 2015 at 9:26 AM

Stunning image with such a beautiful scene and perfect size of the bird compared to the rest of hte frame. The only thing I'm torn about are the leaves from the tree. I wish to see more of them - but I wouldn't want to sacrifice the green grass. Did you grab other compositions?

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

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on November 9, 2015 at 10:52 AM

I think this has a very interesting mood to it. Nice soft light condtions. I keep looking at it thinking it feels a bit unbalanced. The visual mass of the left side is heavy to me. Maybe because it is darker. I don't know for sure. I also keep getting a bit lost with all the strong vertical lines (trees) pullling on me. I wondered what it would look like as a vertical composition so I did a bit of playing just to see. Thought I share that result. See what you think. I'm guessing you probably shot it as a vertical anyway so this is probably a moot point.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 9, 2015 at 11:20 AM

I think you have a great scene here, John. I agree with Keith that it does seem just a little unbalanced and I like the vertical treatment, though I think it works as a landscape as well. The owl is just a little high in the frame, but I understand wanting to keep the tree rooted. The trees are definitely in the poplar family. Where was this taken? Aspen are mostly mountain trees.

devil

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on November 9, 2015 at 11:39 AM

I prefer the original composition - everyone here knows by now that I love bird-in-habitat shots. And given the opportunity you describe I'm confident that you took many other tighter frames.

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

Comment posted by Jerry Marella on November 9, 2015 at 3:07 PM

I too like the habitat shot better. There may be a little too much habitat on the left, but the owl and the trees to the right work well.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 142 Posts, 862 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on November 9, 2015 at 4:34 PM

Hi John, I think both images have their own merits, however I personally would like a hint more below, probably if the black strip wasn't there it would be sufficient. Very 'arresting'.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by Jefferson Silva on November 9, 2015 at 6:00 PM

Very interesting image. I liked the version presented by Keith.

Registered on December 18, 2012, 162 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on November 9, 2015 at 6:03 PM

Thank you for all your comments! I knew this particular comp and feel wouldn't necessarily be the winner for everyone but I likes the forest habitat feel with the dark shadows in part because it struck me as a somewhat unusual frame. I very much appreciate the extra effort, Keith, and must agree as I have a nearly identical frame in my favourites file but with more of the leafy canopy above. Between Jenaya, Josiah and my images of this scene, I "shortlisted" about 2 dozen different comps and poses. ;)

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on November 9, 2015 at 6:20 PM

A wonderful compostion of this beautiful great gray in its intriguing habitat John. The placement of the owl against the darker background is materful. I imagine I will see this image sometime in future as a beautful double page spread.

I'm not a tree guru for sure, but I'm pretty sure these are aspen trees.

Excellent Work!!!

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

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on November 10, 2015 at 10:27 AM

I like it as posted John. I can't help with the tree ID but they look great in your photo.This would make a really cool large print hanging on a wall somewhere. Nice work. devil

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on November 10, 2015 at 7:35 PM

Love the setting here, detail on the owl is incredible. Beautiful shot! Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments