A late afternoon play of light gives zones of lit and shadow snow zones, complimented by a darker band due to trees at the top of the image.

The slight sidelight shows off the Snowy's shadow. Of course, the eyes and claws add to the dramatic look of the photo.

Canon 5D Mark III with the 500L f4 lens offhand @ 1/1000, f4 ISO 400, + 1 1/2 exposure compensation.

Cheers,

Mike