Barn Owl Hovering

Hi everyone, thanks to all who commented on yesterdays upload, much appreciated! This image is a re-work of an old image, the sky was rather bland and uninspiring, so I decided to go B&W. I've extended the canvas at the bottom by 10% to improve the comp, and used the dodge and burn tools to bring out some contrast. I've been inspired by the many great images of Barn Owls, and Short Eared Owls on display here, so have decided to give myself a project this comming Summer. Any tips, places to go etc would be most welcome. Please feel free to comment and 'nit pick'!

I've lost the data for this image, sorry.

No need to nit pick for me Paul,brillant image,with bags of atmosphere,the B+W is great and the clouds add real drama to the image,was this wild or captive? It looks 3D,very different and very niceIMO

A splendid image Paul. Although tight in the corner the composition works well. I'm not a big fan of B/W in wildlife images (landscape yes, wildlife generally no) but I have to say this works exceptionally well. It has an almost studio feel to it which again is something I wouldn't normally like but the effect is quite stunning here almost like a ballet image Marvelous.

I agree with the above comments Paul. Works really well in B&W. A really nice image. Well done.

I do prefer to see colour but this is really nice and does seem to work

Sweet 3D feel to this.

Ian

A different slant on the Barn Owl Paul nicely postioned in that top corner.
The black and white henhancing the sky somewhat and there is a feeling of intamicy with the bird.

Major.

Think this is your best post IMO Paul, b/w works really well.

A superb image - love it!

Tim

Personally prefer colour partic with BOs but this is different and quite effective. Wing a bit tight in the corner maybe.

Personally prefer colour partic with BOs but this is different and quite effective. Wing a bit tight in the corner maybe.

i think this works too , the background works well in B&W. owl has nice detail


Mark.G

Hi Paul, great capture in BW.

Hi Paul ,the conversion works really well and the comp has been well thought out.Minor nit is the repetitions in the canvas added ,the clouds do suggest some degree of cloning and perhaps a light touch of patching tool may aid here.

Like others, I normally prefer colour for wildlife shots. This shot, however, works brilliantly in B&W.

David

This works for me too, I like it a lot, maybe some eye contact would make for a stronger image, but this is excellent as it is!

Now I do like that a lot. If I have to pick fault, it is, as Mark has already pointed out, the repeats in the canvas at the bottom. To be honest I would rather see it without the extra canvas than with those repeats, but I can see why you have done it. It is crying out for plenty of space beneath the bird. It has a huge amount of atmosphere though; a top effort.
Eric

great idea and good image, poss prefer to see part of the eye

Paul

Just come back to this after seeing your latest post Paul. This one really is superb and I'd love to see it as a large print.