I Heard That

Critiques [Translate]

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• Adanac (17607)
• [2007-05-24 22:22]

Hello Scott,
amazing, amazing close up with drop dead details and colors, marvelous work Scott.
Rick

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• Ken52 (4189)
• [2007-05-24 23:12]

Hello Scott,
This is a stunning close-up! Amazing detail in the feathers. I can see the tiny hairs that stand out. Great eyes. Outstanding exposure with beautiful natural colors. Excellent DOF and background.
Ken

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• InI23 (158)
• [2007-05-25 0:15]

Great facial expression on the bird. Awesome sharpness and texture. My one problem with the shot is the distracting brightness to the right of the owl's face. Good job!

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• red45 (30219)
• [2007-05-25 2:11]

Hi Old Firend!!!

"I had to make some squeaking sounds to get him to rotate his head around." - Oh, I see - this is old police method to intimidate and catch suspect :-) This bird looks great! Very proud but also slighttly angry. And of course amber eyes! Lovely portrait Scott!

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• shal (2118)
• [2007-05-25 2:24]

HI Scott,
splendid shot with an apt title :)
Love the expression on the owl, the details and compo. are excellent :)

Great Shot,
Cheers :D

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• dB_grafix (3019)
• [2007-05-25 3:08]

Perfect details and exposure. This is something I would like to be able to get close to. Unfortunately here I would need a way bigger lens than a 200, because they are usually quite far away.
The eye detail is so good on this too. TFS
I completely agree with you on the VR lens. IS for Canon.

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• pablominto (15941)
• [2007-05-25 3:26]

Hello Scott,
All ears..!
Or that's what he looks like, this majestic bird having his fine portrait taken...
Great details in the plumage, subject is effectively framed and the backlight playing with the head feathers is a fine touch!
Greetings,
Pablo -

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• blakitan (5451)
• [2007-05-25 4:38]

Hi Scott,
Excellent close up shot. Superb sharpness, nice DoF, neat BG.

BL

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• ellis49 (30757)
• [2007-05-25 6:08]

Hi Scott,
this is a very fine portrait with good sharpness and details.
And the bird standout well from the BG.
The colours are alsor very nice.
Agree, IS, VR, SSS ir very handy to have when the SS will be long.
Great work, mf.

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• Aaltjie (0)
• [2007-05-25 8:48]
• [3] [+]

A stunning photo. Great detail, it is amazing. What a beautiful photo. All the detail on the plumage is unbelieveable. This photo is worth 10 out of 10. I just love it. Thank you for sharing, the Interesting information given is much appreciated. If you where thinking of returning a smiley to me, sorry you can’t, (look at my intro page for the reason) but please have a look at some of these members portfolios. I personally think some of these shots deserve a big smiley. You might consider giving them to one of these members beautiful photos. It cannot be missed. Maybe you have seen some of them, maybe not. There are so many but I include only a few links.

http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Africa/South_Africa/photo112094.htm
http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Oceania/New_Zealand/photo111168.htm
http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Europe/Czech_Republic/photo110069.htm
http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Africa/South_Africa/photo111528.htm

You might see things totally different, and even disagree with my choice. Writing critiques is a learning school for me, and because I am not a photographer I do not see and look for finer details like you guys. So if you received a smiley from me, it is because I just LOVED what I saw, and it is much appreciated.

Regards
Aaltjie

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• Proframe (4084)
• [2007-05-25 9:09]
•  [Show CommentHide Comment]

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• dew77 (13209)
• [2007-05-25 9:23]

Hello Scott,
Magnificant portrait.Details,lighting,BG and pose of owl are amazing.Have a great weekend!
TFS..:-)

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• SkyF (8127)
• [2007-05-25 9:56]

Hi Scott,
this is fabulous, the lighting is absolutly gorgeous.
Lovely how the ear tuffs stand out as if under the spotlight.
Beautifull composed and perfect quality. This is one of my favorites.
TFS..Sky

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• MMM (8837)
• [2007-05-25 10:06]

Hi Scott
Very sharp portrait with nice colors.Nice details from the plumage .I also like the BG blur and color.
TFS Michel

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• jaycee (21912)
• [2007-05-25 11:24]

Hi Scott,

Wow!!!! Couldn't be better. Fantastic colors, details, lighting. Wonderful face - eyes - beak - plummage. I love it!

Jane

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• Alex99 (18415)
• [2007-05-25 11:32]

Hi Scott.
I think it is impossible to take a better shot. It is simply outstanding. All is great: pose of the owl and cropping of the image, nice rich colours and crisp sharpness of the bird, colourfulness and illumination of the BG, reflection of its eyes impression and state of mood. It is my favorite shot to. Bravo and congratulations. Perfect done.
Alexei.

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• livios (16906)
• [2007-05-25 11:55]

Wow, man, this is indeed a sharp shot.

Excellent saturation, bg, sharpness and contrast between the owl and the bg.

Excellent alert pose.

Congratulations, Scott.

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• vanderschelden (30141)
• [2007-05-25 12:00]

Hi Scott,
Great image. Exposure, composing,etc...well done!
TFS
Annick

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• star74 (2472)
• [2007-05-25 12:09]

Hi Scott,
Woww beautiful pose,
Details,sharpness and colors are amazing,
TFS

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• TheMystic (507)
• [2007-05-25 16:02]

Looks quite owly! Great details and perfect pose! They can be so quiet: used to scare me on the nightshift in the railyards, when they were hunting for mice, but then let out a hoot right next to my ear!
Cheers
Otto

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• stevkds (1789)
• [2007-05-25 19:12]

Hellou Scott..I like that owl... Very nice shot. Nice capture with excellent sharpness and colours. Very well done . tfs. Stev

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• Kaszek (1451)
• [2007-05-30 6:56]

Hello Scott,
Beautiful portrait! Details, colour of eyes - all are great! Good DOF and BG. TFS!

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• AnimalExplorer (62)
• [2007-05-30 12:03]

Fantastic portrait of this amazing looking hooter Scott, you captured the natural tones and details of this bird of prey with such skill. :)

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• Silvio2006 (40519)
• [2007-05-30 15:14]

Hi Scott, wonderful portraitwith splendid light and colors, great details, very well done, ciao Silvio

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• izler (486)
• [2007-05-31 11:09]

merhaba Scott
wonderful portrait photo of this beautiful owl that is giving nice pose to you
composition, point of view, blurred background, lighting, colours, focus, sharpness, details and informative note are great
thanks for sharing
regards
izler

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• saguzar (7198)
• [2007-06-01 19:41]

Hi Scott,
Faaaaaaaa!!!!!!! A really great portrait! The owl is absolutely lovely; technical details are all perfects in my opinion. My congratulations
Hernán
´
Sorry, I´m very busy last days

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• marmottelolo (14687)
• [2007-06-02 8:20]

bonjour scott
la profondeur est parfaite et l'oiseau se detache vraiment tres bien du BG flou et clair.
bonne netteté et details.
laurent

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• Evelynn (14396)
• [2007-06-07 20:56]

You managed wonderful sharpness and great exposure on this shot Scott. I think the slight tilt to the head is more effective than the usual straight on, big eyed, owl shots. Nice work

Evelynn : )

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• loot (9885)
• [2007-06-10 5:25]
• [3]

Hi Scott

Wow, simply brilliant MF.

Every thing worked in perfect unison for you to capture and present this magnificent shot:-
1. The endurance of the owl to allow you the close proximity for this excellently detailed portrait.
2. The cooperation shown by the owl to positively react to your sound cue to turn its head adequately in order to obtain the required positioning.
3. The light that was just at the right intensity (although you had to revert to ISO400) and the right angle to allow for this amazing exposure levels and to reveal the remarkable contrasts in the plumage.
4. The gentle breeze that provided a soft yet sufficient stir that resulted in the added attraction in the movement of the ear tufts .
5. The general scenery i.e. the placing of the owl in relation to the well removed and out-of-focus BG that aided in complimenting or enhancng the bird.
6. The usage of your IS lens to stabilise the detail from a hand held shot at 1/50 shutter speed.
7. The application of your acquired skills and experience with regards to this kind of shot. I'm thinking back of some of your other magnificent bird portraits such as this one, or this one, or this one, or even this little masterpiece, etc.
8. And ultimately your abilities in PP optimisation which finally prepared this shot for a great TN posting.

Great work MF and TFS.
Regards
Loot

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• Shoot_Score (2370)
• [2007-06-10 22:58]

Shoot Scott!

This is a stunning image! PERIOD!

Tfs, Jay

PS Themed

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• snowfalken (1788)
• [2007-06-13 9:51]
• [+]

Hello Scott,

This is a wonderful portrait of a great raptor! I love the tufts blown in the wind!


Composition:

I find your composition excellent with many strong elements! The unmistakable silhouette is clearly readable against the blurred background. I appreciate you didn't place the subject exactly in the middle and the empty space is well distributed around it. The sunlit forest in the background is perfect for isolating the subject! I also like the artistic pose of the owl with the head turned to the right side of the picture.

Colors:

The colors look natural and saturation was adjusted perfectly. I can clearly make the difference between the sunlit background and the foreground in shade.

Contrast:

The contrast is excellent! It defines great details in the plumage and in the features of the owl's face!

Exposure:

The very good exposure preserved the details in both highlights and shadows! You didn't let the camera fool you when measuring the light in the scene. Great exposure to favor the subject in spite of the brighter background. Just one question: not that I don't like these results, they are outstanding but why didn't you use the flash as a fill light? I would have probably filled in with the flash and therefore I would like to know what your judgment was when deciding not to use the flash.

Focus:

The accurate focus resulted in very sharp details in the subject! You also controlled the DOF very well. probably the distance between lens and subject was pretty small to get such a blurred background at f/8.

An outstanding work of art as usual! The notes are well written and useful! Thanks for sharing!

With Friendly Regards,
Eddie

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• marhowie (268)
• [2007-06-14 16:08]

Very natural looking colors, and a well composed frame Scott. It's nice & sharp with great, POV, DOF, exposure, and bokeh :)
Howard

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• JoseMiguel (5502)
• [2007-06-15 0:14]

Hi Scott,
A very impressive capture!
I like so much the hight quality and sharpness of this image!
Even the small hairs of the head can be seen over the green background.
It's so beautiful the colours and pattern on the feathers.
Congratulations and thanks for share it.
My best regards,
JM

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• ramthakur (32026)
• [2007-06-15 11:28]

A remarkable portrait image with your long-range lens, Scott. The in-built IS in some of these lenses is a blessing, indeed.
The image is faultless in every respect.
Thanks for sharing it and best regards.

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• lawhill (2054)
• [2007-06-15 14:39]

Hello Scott,
Fantastic portrait, very sharp I can see the all plumage,
his eyes are perfect, vivid colors well composed , KUDOS
TFS best regards/Lawhill

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• Juyona (15453)
• [2007-06-15 17:16]

Hola amigo,
excelente retrato y maravillosa compo,
bello plumaje, iluminación y pov,
estupendos...
bello trabajo,
saludos Scott

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• Maite (5195)
• [2007-06-15 17:31]

What a fantastic creature! I love those eyes and 'ears'!
Magnificent shot as all of yours, Scott. I love it.
No doubt that you will have a great business as professional photographer. You are a great one.
Congratulations and my best wishes.
Greetings
Maite

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• deblink (1256)
• [2007-06-15 19:22]

Hi Scott,
This is an excellent portrait of this Eagle Owl. I have never seen one before. Not only is it a glorious looking bird but your image of it is glorious too. Such sharpness gives us an opportunity to examine the birds finer details so well. I am impressed.
Cheers,
Debbie

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• PeterZ (17140)
• [2007-06-16 11:16]

Hello Scott,
This is the most perfect close-up photo of an Eagle-Owl I've ever seen. Everything is said. Just Perfect.
Regards,
Peter

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• claudine (0)
• [2007-06-16 11:20]

What a great capture of such a nice and impressive fellow! I like this POV and compo a lot and what to say about this prefect exposure and details! He is not a flying flower but he looks beautiful ;) Thanks,
Claudine

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• coasties (27684)
• [2007-07-02 11:39]

Hi Scott

Love those ears! Awesome closeup of this beautiful owl. Excellent DoF, clear and sharp. I can even count the fluffy hairs down the side of his head. Perfect! :-)

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• hester (11638)
• [2007-07-07 12:34]

Hi Scott

I love the light in this shot. Excellent framing, sharp and with a great POV. Really lovely shot

TFS

Karan

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• arfer (0)
• [2007-09-16 20:16]

Hello Scott

Amazing clarity with sharp focus and detail.The pose is excellent with wonderful eye contact.The lighting and colours are well done.TFS

Rob