Mike Cohen
October 2026 - Burrowing Owl
Original
About the Image(s)
Burrowing Owls are the most animated owls I have seen. Sometimes they just have to see what you look like upside down to get a good read on you. Besides the crop, I played with the color a lot. Overall, I cooled the image down from the entire image except the eyes. I added some sharpening to the owl and tree limb, and removed noise from the background in Lightroom. In Photoshop, I ran Topaz DeNoise which added a barely discernible amount of sharpening. In NIK Effects I added a bit of Clear View and Detail on the owl. Finally, I desaturated the belly feathers a bit to remove more of the yellow color cast. Sony a1ii, 100-400mm lens, f/4.5, 1/2000 second, ISO 6400.
4 comments posted
Mike, I was just out in the Badlands and had so hoped to see burrowing owls, which share the homes of prairie dogs. But they had already gone south. I'll have to look for them in Florida sometime. Such a cute photo with so much personality. I'd love to know time of day, when it was taken, circumstances and all. The upside down gaze is so different! And the editing is all you could ask for. It stands out. The light spots in the background don't bother me. I am focused on those eyes. Great job. Posted: 10/06/2026 17:44:08
Thanks Tracy. We are lucky to have relatively aclimated burrowing owls in several south Florida parks. Coral Cove, over on the west coast, is probably best well known. But Davie Florida has two wonderful public recreational areas where there are many nests. Vista View is my favorite and Brian Piccalo is also good. I generally shoot in the morning, which was when this image was taken, but the afternoons are good for owls too. They have chicks in the spring which is when I go quite often to watch and photograph them. Posted: 10/07/2026 01:24:18
Mike, thank you for those great suggestions. Maybe next year I can make a trip. I love your photo. Posted: 10/08/2026 10:45:01
(Groups 34 & 81)
He is gorgeous as is the post processing you have done.
Well done. Posted: 10/10/2026 14:27:36
Well done. Posted: 10/10/2026 14:27:36