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Short-Eared Owl


Short-Eared Owl
Photo Information
Copyright: Rick Price (Adanac) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1111 W: 1 N: 4518] (15128)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-12-02
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon 20D, Canon 100-400/4.5-5.6L IS
Exposure: f/10.0, 1/1000 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): !"Mon pays, c'est l'hiver"... [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-01-18 7:03
Viewed: 774
Points: 34
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This Short-Eared Owl was captured surveying this field from a rock on top of a hill. This photo was cropped.
Short-eared Owl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Short-eared Owl

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Strigiformes

Family: Strigidae

Genus: Asio

Species: A. flammeus


The Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) is a species of typical owl (family Strigidae). Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. Asio flammeus will display its tufts when in a defensive pose. However, its very short tufts are usually not visible. The Short-eared Owl is found in open country and grasslands.
Asio flammeus, the Short-eared Owl, is a medium-sized owl averaging 34–43 cm (13 to 17 inches) in length and weighing 206–475 grams (11 to 13 ounces). It has large eyes, big heads, short necks, and broad wings. Its bill is short, strong, hooked and black. Its plumage is mottled tawny to brown with a barred tail and wings. The upper breast is significantly streaked (Alsop 2001). Wingspans range from 85 to 103 cm (38 to 44 inches). Females are slightly larger than males. The yellow-orange eyes of A. flammeus are exaggerated by black rings encircling each eye, and large, whitish disks of plumage surrounding the eyes like a mask.
Merlin, lovenature, vanderschelden, SkyF, Tamrock, loot, claudine, jeanpaul has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To loot: Hi LootAdanac 2 01-18 23:32
To bobair: Thanks BobAdanac 1 01-18 21:16
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Critiques [Translate]

A very atmospheric and wintry image, with spot-on exposure. I think I would have preferred the owl framed higher and further left in the frame for dramatic impact, but a very attractive portrait of the bird in its environment.

Regards, Nigel.

beautiful pic, almost like a painting, TFS Ori

  • Great 
  • badar Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 109 W: 0 N: 168] (785)
  • [2007-01-18 8:37]

Hi Rick,
This photo looks like a painting, very nice bird in its environment.
TFS
Badruddin Ali

Hi Rick
A nice portrait of this Short Earred Owl as he sits on his rock looking for breakfast. The colours, sharpness and composition is excellent.
Lucky you to live in such a great wildlife area (Jenner)
TFS Janice

  • Great 
  • jossim Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1674 W: 5 N: 2130] (11898)
  • [2007-01-18 12:13]

Superbe prise nature,cet oiseau est magnifique.
Merci!
Joseph

Nice wildlife one.
The eye right in the middle of the image;-).
TFS
Annick

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2007-01-18 13:49]

Hello Rick,
fabulous composition, the setting of this scene is so wonderful. Very nice wintery colors and lovely scenery just enough OOF to show of those great details of the owl. POV, sharpness and placement of your subject are very good.
TFS..Sky

hi rick!
this is a beautiful photo with
fine quality and great feeling
very well done!

Hi Rick,
what a lovely shot of an owl you have taken.I like the way the face of this bird and the granite rock are so well in focus,such a tight field of view.The background suggests that there was a wind at the time,which would be no surprise considering Alberta is so windy.I'm wondering if you have any pictures of cacti as I have seen them in the general area of Jenner and Brooks,also do you have any antelope pics? I like the way you have cropped this bird and find no fault in this presentation 5x5,keep up your good work. Bob

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-01-18 20:56]

Hello Rick

Another excellent capture in a beautiful natural setting.The setting alone would make a nice shot,with the pink,lichen covered stones,the windswept grasses in the snow, and the red berries on the bush.What a backdrop for this owl.Very good DOF the owl is well focused with good detail in it;s plumage and eye.TFS

rob

  • Great 
  • loot Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5747 W: 606 N: 3505] (9407)
  • [2007-01-18 21:27]
  • [+]

Hi Rick

A lovely shot with this owl in typical habitat and environment. It is interesting how the snow seems packed on the right side of the rocks indicating strong winds from right-to-left on the photo, but all the grass are bent towards the other side indicating a left-to-right wind.

I like the composition and POV with the owl peeking over its shoulder, but just maybe it could have been improved even further by cropping a slightly more on the left hand side. The colours are very natural and the details are fine especially on the owl and its rocky perch. The DOF is good and although the BG is not totally blurred or OOF it is sufficiently so to still show the environment yet not sharp enough to distract the viewer and the exposure was well done.

Good work and TFS.
Regards
Loot

Hello Rick,
This is wild-life! I like this picture as it looks very natural. You had a great POV and you capture nice details. I just think that the compo is a little too centered. Well done and well seen. Again, this is another animal that I never photograph :) Thanks,
Claudine

Hi Rick,
I just love the soft colors in your photo. It is a great capture It is intersting that the grasses seem to be blowing in one direction while the snow obviously blew in the other direction. They make for some interesting lines in the composition.
Just as anothr option I tried a square crop: to off center the owl a bit more and to change the proportional relationship between the foreground rock and the rest of the elements in the composition. It is a beautiful photograph. Great spotting.

TFS
Evelynn : )

Hi Rick
Superbe prise et belle présentation ,le regard de l'oiseau est perçant et les détails sont parfaits.

Félicitation et merci pour la note ...JP
Les sourires demain

  • Great 
  • hibou Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 206 W: 1 N: 351] (1561)
  • [2007-01-21 11:22]

Hello Rick,
I love Owl and You did a great shot of this one. I agree with fragman this picture looks like an artistic painting. Congratulations and TFS. If I can suggest, I would have crop a litte bit behind the bird.
Donald

Excellent capture very dramatic scene included. The exposure is perfect on this capture, the natural colors come out very nice. :)

Rick, I just posted a WS for this photo which has tremendous potential! Very unusual capture of the owl The singular eye gives this an almost mystical quality. My other feedback is included in the WS notes. Hope you like, Jay

PS In the WS I omitted to mention that I specifically wanted to remove the bluish shaded areas on the right, which in my view are not helpful in this great shot!

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