Great Grey Owl

Dennis Bloodnok · Jul 10, 2016

Not one of my most recent shots, but one I thought might be good to share. All comments welcome.

Overread · Jul 10, 2016

I like it- close cropped and a touch shame about one bit of the wing missing but nice shot to capture that moment; esp as birds coming toward the camera are generally pretty quick

Where did you take the shot?

Dennis Bloodnok · Jul 10, 2016

Exactly as you say; that bit of wing was the casualty of getting the shot at all. In fact, although it has been cropped a bit, it's not been by that much; mainly top and bottom to give a bit more of a panorama feel to help convey the flight speed.

This is one of the owls at the Hawk Conservancy Trust near Andover. No idea how close that is to you, but I heartily recommend a visit; one of the few places that fly birds of prey where one can have confidence that the birds' welfare is the first priority.

Thanks for the comments.

Overread · Jul 10, 2016

Cropping to give it a more landscape appeal I think works for this type of shot; though it can highlight the clipped wing. Not sure if cropping it tighter to make it seem more deliberate a move might work?

And sadly that trust is far from me; I'm up in Suffolk so way over the other side of London; though we've some similar trusts up our way.

Dennis Bloodnok · Jul 10, 2016

Hmm. Interesting thought. I'll have to play a bit more with the tighter cropping. Thanks for the suggestion.

Overread · Jul 10, 2016

No problem; a further thought is apply the same "rules" to the animal that you would to a person so don't crop so that a joint is on the boundary; but instead so that you're cropping on the limb itself. This is apparently something that is generally done in the human portrait world and tends to result in a cleaner appearance than chopping parts off at the joint of the limb.

beagle100 · Jul 10, 2016

nice owl BIF

Dennis Bloodnok · Jul 10, 2016

Thanks, Beagle100

Dennis Bloodnok · Jul 11, 2016

Overread said:
No problem; a further thought is apply the same "rules" to the animal that you would to a person so don't crop so that a joint is on the boundary; but instead so that you're cropping on the limb itself. This is apparently something that is generally done in the human portrait world and tends to result in a cleaner appearance than chopping parts off at the joint of the limb.

Now that's something I didn't know. I haven't done much portrait work, so hadn't really given a great deal of thought to post processing techniques in that area, but it makes plenty of sense now you mention it. Thanks for the tip.