Snowy Owl

[Quo Fan]

I recently went to a place called Wing Masters where they rehab injured birds of prey, or rescue them from irresponsible owners. They have some beautiful birds, and this was one of them. All of the birds were hand held and we could shoot away. I shot this from a lower angle to get the blue sky. I lightened the eye on the right just a little so it could be seen better and cropped the image.

I want to enter this in my club's monthly competition, and would like for once to win (I've only gotten second place as my personal best).

Do you see any ways to improve this picture?


Exif:
Camera: Canon EOS 30D
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 300 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[christinaLunardi]

I think I would deepen the background colour.

[kgb224]

It looks fine to me.

[Preacherman]

Magnificent creature, brilliant shot. Love it. Thanks. PAUL

[RobScotcher]

I agree with the first comment and like to see a deeper colour in the sky.

Also I'm curious how far back were you from the bird? As your focal length suggests 300mm, but the composition suggests you were some distance away. I would have liked to see the eyes as a greater % of the overall composition.

However still a nice shot not sure it is first place material though, but that is only my opinion and I will be delighted if you can prove me wrong - good luck.

[PhotoPhix]

Originally Posted by Quo Fan

I recently went to a place called Wing Masters where they rehab injured birds of prey, or rescue them from irresponsible owners. They have some beautiful birds, and this was one of them. All of the birds were hand held and we could shoot away. I shot this from a lower angle to get the blue sky. I lightened the eye on the right just a little so it could be seen better and cropped the image.

I want to enter this in my club's monthly competition, and would like for once to win (I've only gotten second place as my personal best).

Do you see any ways to improve this picture?


Exif:
Camera: Canon EOS 30D
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 300 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[Sterling]

The lighting is a little flat in the original. PhotoPhix`s first edit addresses this really well (forgetting about the background for a second). I really notice the improvement in detail there. Of course, it would be a little more helpful if he actually explained what he did to achieve that.

[PhotoPhix]

Originally Posted by Sterling

The lighting is a little flat in the original. PhotoPhix`s first edit addresses this really well (forgetting about the background for a second). I really notice the improvement in detail there. Of course, it would be a little more helpful if he actually explained what he did to achieve that.

The background change will be difficult as the subjects edges on the original are quite blurred. As for the subjects lighting correction, I adjusted the mids and highlights using a levels layer,and I did a 24% opacity layer using unsharpen mask. I also did a bit of dodging around the right eye.

Hope this helps

Armando

[RobScotcher]

Now you have potentential winner - nice work.

[Quo Fan]

Originally Posted by RobScotcher

Also I'm curious how far back were you from the bird? As your focal length suggests 300mm, but the composition suggests you were some distance away. I would have liked to see the eyes as a greater % of the overall composition.

I was about 20 feet away. The bird was hand held about shoulder height and lit by the sun from the front left. All the adjustment I did were in Lightroom. I haven't taken it to CS4 yet, but I think I will now.