Changing Seasons

It's digital, more recent (2007) than most (if not all) of the other stuff I've posted, and at this point it's still a work in progress. The original image was captured in September of 2007 at Baxter State Park in central Maine. The camera was the Canon Digital Rebel, and I don't remember which lens I was using. The first image is the original (except for resizing to post) as it came out of the camera and yes it was shot as a high quality low compression jpg rather than camera raw. The second (except for flattening and resizing to post) exists as a layered psd. I did put the bottom leaves on a separate layer and gave them a little extra sharpening, The full rez version is edited to print out at 7.5" x 9.3".

Unedited (as it came out of the camera)

Edited (at this point)

If no one else is going to say it, then I'll say, it's out of focus, or the breeze is moving the leaves too much. I think its a focus and DOF issue. With that focal length, I would have shot in the f/11 to f/16 range. Trying to fix it in post usually doesn't work for these types of issues.

Or quite possibly a combination of both, and I did try to fix it in post (that's where all the layers came in), and as you pointed out! It didn't work. But! It did give me a good shot at working with layers and selections.

I'd like to talk about "fix it in post" a bit. I routinely "fix" dust spots, crop out or even clone out unwanted elements and noise, but I almost always dispose of unsharp images, due to focus or shutter speed too low. Once in a blue moon, maybe less often, I record an event that so unique that I try to "improve" it with advanced software. Here's the last time I did it, in 2015!:

Reprocessed Blackbird On Owl Shot (Explored) by David Stephens, on Flickr

Before correction with Piccure+ which is no longer available:

Red-winged blackbird harasses Great Horned Owl by David Stephens, on Flickr

Even after correction, I consider it barely acceptable, but the content is so rare that it overwhelms my reluctance to share it. We can fix lots of things in post, but I think that motion blur and/or out of focus should seldom be attempted. I dispose of dozens of pix almost every day and sometimes reluctantly because I missed critical focus. (My subjects are often moving fast). I take extra shots to increase the odds that I'll have critical focus in a good pose.

Wow!!!! Question! Was that blackbird actually giving the owl a hard time, or was the owl making a meal out of the b'bird?

Actually, the red-winged blackbird is pecking the great horned owl on the back of the head, as they both fly. It's a fact of life for all raptors, including eagles and great horned owls, every passing blackbird or raven thinks that they need to harass them. With this particular GHO, she has a nest nearby. Three-days in a row, I saw a gang of ten crows stop by her nest at around 4 p.m. and harass her for around ten minutes, then move on to their next victim.

Actually, the red-winged blackbird is pecking the great horned owl on the back of the head, as they both fly. It's a fact of life for all raptors, including eagles and great horned owls, every passing blackbird or raven thinks that they need to harass them. With this particular GHO, she has a nest nearby. Three-days in a row, I saw a gang of ten crows stop by her nest at around 4 p.m. and harass her for around ten minutes, then move on to their next victim.

Bet that's the last time she builds a nest in that neighborhood!

Bet that's the last time she builds a nest in that neighborhood!

Maybe she likes to eat crow.

Bet that's the last time she builds a nest in that neighborhood!

Interesting fact: Great horned owls do not build nests. They take over nests built by hawks and abandoned the prior spring. I think, for all raptors, there's no escaping crows and blackbirds.

Interesting fact: Great horned owls do not build nests. They take over nests built by hawks and abandoned the prior spring. I think, for all raptors, there's no escaping crows and blackbirds.

Ohhhh! Interesting!! I didn't know that! (thinking) Hmmm! You'd think the hawk could've at least left a note!!! (G)

Interesting fact: Great horned owls do not build nests. They take over nests built by hawks and abandoned the prior spring.

Here's another interesting fact about owls: they may move from place to place. Owls tend to follow the available food chain, so they are (at least potentially) transient. I heard once that great horned owls lay eggs in I believe January. Once that happens the female almost never leaves the nest until the hatchlings can be without her warmth- I think early to mid March, During this time, the male does all the hunting, bringing food home to mama.

Here's another interesting fact about owls: they may move from place to place. Owls tend to follow the available food chain, so they are (at least potentially) transient. I heard once that great horned owls lay eggs in I believe January. Once that happens the female almost never leaves the nest until the hatchlings can be without her warmth- I think early to mid March, During this time, the male does all the hunting, bringing food home to mama.

Very close to totally correct; however, once the owlet(s) are a few weeks old, she may leave to hunt. Generally, the male does not take her place, but almost always stays within sight of the nest.

A few years ago I watched a nest where the female was killed by another owl, after the owlets had hatched. I never saw the male, but he fed the owlets until the fledged. They weathered several snow storms and temps down around zero:

Owlets under snow. by David Stephens, on Flickr

@dcstep

How interesting and wow- what drama!