Barn Owl

Karen,

I like the comp you used because the owl is looking down towards the ground and this comp leaves space for the bird to go that direction. Lovely colors in both the bird and the background. I like the pose and the view of the talons. Beautiful light.

I was just recently reading about the laws in the UK concerning having a Schedule 1 license for photographing nesting barn owls at, on or near a nest. Seems to give the owls a lot less chance of being disturbed.

Karen, I like this imagime because of the intense stare of the owl for its target. Your crop really sets up that feeling. The head is sharp and that draws me to it. Great capture.

Another great shot, Karen ! Congratulations.
Mauro

Karen: A very appealing image. The first thing that stands out for me is the position of the head in relation to the wings. It tells the story well of the hunting behavior. The background works well and the details are fantastic. Your choice of a portrait crop seems to work just fine for this one. Very nice.

You are right Mia you have to have a license to photograph these birds at the nest site which I think is quite right, less disturbance for them you have to with kingfishers to

Excellent image Karen. I like how you captured the head turn and the lovely position of the wings.
May

Very cool flight/hover image, I like the wing span, head looking down toward the ground and the background colors add a great touch, excellent shot, well done.

Karen, I love the wing position and the downward look. NIce light and the vertical works for me. Well done!!

Just beautiful, Karen. I like the side view and the DOF that covers the whole bird. A nice head turn that shows the Owl is intent on the hunt. The wingspread, the head shape and those talons....it really shows what an effective killing machine these animals are.

Another sweet Barn Owl photo Karen

Ken Archer

Karen,
I love everything about this image. The background is very complimentary to the owl. Exquisite details in the larger version. Nice job Karen.

Hi Karen,

Wow! This is absolutely wonderful, everything from the pose to the perfectly outstretched wings to the wonderful lighting on the head contrasting with the more subtly lit wing feathers, truly a magnificent capture and, of course, the narrative speaks volumes alone, extremely well done :^)

I do have a couple of questions for you if you will:

Were you using a tripod or was this taken handheld?

Much as I'd love to be working with a 1DMK4, the best I have right now is the 7D, however, I also use 500 f/4 as well as the 1.4 TC like you. A good photographer friend of mine, who I've learned a number of good tips from, told me a while ago that when using the 500 coupled with the 1.4 TC, chances are that I'll always get a much sharper image if reduce the aperture down from the maximum (i.e. f/5.6) to f/8 and, in my experience since, this is something I have found to be true.

So my second question is, have you heard of this yourself and, if so, why did you opt for f/5.6 for this particular shot?

Please understand that I'm not saying this image is not sharp, as it surely is, I'm just curious to know (and perhaps learn) from good photographers like yourself the reasons for your choices with camera settings.

In the hope of hearing back from you in response, thank you in advance and wishing you a wonderful day ahead :^)

Kind regards,

Ashley

Great capture, light and detail

Hi Ashley

I don t mind you asking at all, I always use support and in this case a gitzo tripod, I could never handhlod this kit it would just be to heavy. I probably should have explained which I did in my other shot that on that particular day the light had been hit and miss all day hence the ISO being on 400, and f5.6, when this owl appeared the sun came out and it my hurry to get the shots didn t even have time to think about my settings, would have probably shot it at a lower iso and aperture if I had, but thats not to say that I don t get sharp shots when I do use 5.6 because I do get sharp images, it depends on the distance I am shooting at and what effect I want that determines the aperture that I use.But to be honest ISO 400 or 800 for me has been no problem at all and using f5.6 also has like I said always given me good results so I think in this instance I am glad I didn t have the choice to change the settings as I think the shot worked out well, but just take plenty of shots at different settings and you will find out which is giving you the best results for your particular set up. Hope that helps and if anyone wants to add anything feel free.

Hello Karen.

Beautifully captured and your choice of crop is spot on, the beautiful lighting and pose in this image really make it a please to view.

Great comp and I like the position of the owl.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Karen :^)

My guess is that the 1DMK4 makes a world of difference when it comes to working in lower light conditions; much as I love my 7D (which I find to be much better than the 40D I was using previously), if I go above 400 ISO I can already see noise in my images, and anything above 600 ISO I know is going to need some serious work in PP.

Perhaps one of these days I'll be fortunate enough to be able to splash out on a MK4 ;^)

Thanks again and looking forward to seeing more of your splendid work. Wishing you all the best :^)

Ashley

Beautiful shot! I really like the head turn and wingspread.

Missed this earlier - gives me a chance to say that my default ISO's with the 1D2 was 400, and with the Mk III and IV, it has been 800.

Nice capture - wish we could see them flying in daylight here.