Barn Owl

Gallery: AvianPosted November 4, 20111,025 views24 comments

Birds have been quite slow around here for a while so I thought I'd post this image from Feb/08 that I came across while preparing a recent blog post. It's one of the few head-on flight shots I have of the species. Lower background is frosted/snowy Phragmites.

40D, 1/2500, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, cropped to 55% of original image, tripod, small exposure adjustment in ACR, sharpened bird, no additional processing or adjustments, natural light, not set up, called in or baited

Larger version provided

Comments/critique appreciated

Comments

24 comments

Comment posted by Mark Schiebelbein on November 4, 2011 at 6:26 PM

This is awesome. I love the pastel colors and how the out of focus vegetation ads depth to the image. Position of Owl is excellant and you got a catchlite in both eyes. I wish we had these Owls up here, I have yet to see one.

Registered on November 8, 2008, 55 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on November 4, 2011 at 6:48 PM

Great pose of the bird. I like how you cropped this as the background colors compliment the bird nicely. Almost has a painterly feel.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on November 4, 2011 at 6:55 PM

The light and colors are wonderful and the details of the owl are excellent. Really an exceptional image.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on November 4, 2011 at 7:07 PM

I love it. The frost/ice/snow goes well with the owl and makes a very ghostly image.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on November 4, 2011 at 7:23 PM

Hi Ron,
Very nicely balanced image.
Great to find treasures buried in the archives

cool shot.
Neil

Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on November 4, 2011 at 7:26 PM

Ron, this is simply beautiful...nothing to nit!

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on November 4, 2011 at 7:53 PM

Absolutely spectacular, Ron. I think the comp here is so beautiful: the pose and position of the bird; the frosted vegetation; the darker vegetation on the lhs nicely balancing the image. All combined with a wonderful image of this owl. Really, really nice, Ron.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on November 4, 2011 at 8:18 PM

Great look at the bird and the background is complimentary. I like being able to see the eyes and the wings fully extended.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on November 4, 2011 at 8:55 PM

Fantastic. Wish I had a shot like that.

Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on November 4, 2011 at 9:10 PM

The vegetation colors blend so nicely with that of the owl... gives the image a soft, gentle feel. The owl's wing position is just SWEET!

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on November 4, 2011 at 9:11 PM

Wonderful image as always, Ron. The flare to the wings is so nice and probably what I like most in this photo thaat has so much going for it.

Regards,

Charlie

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on November 5, 2011 at 2:55 AM

Wow!!! The large version is a feast for the eyes Ron. Great light and catchlight, the foreground and background compliment the owl nicely.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Rohn B. McKee on November 5, 2011 at 9:31 AM

Simply elegant image. Beautifully captured, processed and presented. Thanks
Hunting my first roughy today, wish me luck.

Registered on November 18, 2008, 109 Posts, 415 Comments

Comment posted by John Blumenkamp on November 5, 2011 at 10:23 AM

Great capture and angle here Ron, and I love seeig the environment/phragmites. Do you have more image to the left? I'm wondering how it might look with more of a horizontal crop? Excellent work as is!

Registered on February 26, 2011, 58 Posts, 313 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on November 5, 2011 at 10:50 AM

Do you have more image to the left? I'm wondering how it might look with more of a horizontal crop?

Thanks John, yes I do have more room to the left but there's some dark Phragmites heads out there that would either have to be bisected or be too close to the frame edge. In the end I liked this comp best.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on November 5, 2011 at 1:28 PM

Super shot....I like everything about it! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on November 5, 2011 at 1:31 PM

Great setting, Ron. I think the slightly off-kilter angle of the bird works pretty well in this case. A nice change-up from straight-on or profiled shots.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on November 5, 2011 at 3:04 PM

Among your best posts, Ron, and that's saying something. I'm very surprised to see a Barn Owl out in this much daylight; I think of them as barely crepuscular and most;y nocturnal.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on November 5, 2011 at 4:11 PM

Just a gorgeous image Ron. Love the setting and having the owl coming towards you is amazing.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on November 5, 2011 at 10:50 PM

Ron, this is beautiful. I love the setting and muted color palette, along with the great angle and wing position of the bird.

Things have been slow around here too.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on November 6, 2011 at 12:22 AM

Finding BIF shots a real challenge, I always marvel over photographers that seem to be able to pull them off with apparent ease, though my respect and appreciation automatically increases whenever I see a BIF comin' straight attcha' shot that's as fine as this, as to me they're probably the most challenging captures of all. Exceptionally well done Ron!

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Conway on November 8, 2011 at 1:37 PM

Hi Ron,

Things are slow here too. Glad I stopped by the site today and saw this. Outstanding work! I love everything about it. Art!

Peter

Registered on June 25, 2007, 347 Posts, 3913 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on December 1, 2011 at 8:01 AM

Very nice Ron. I especially like the head-on POV and this soft BG/setting..
Wonderful image here.

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Eirini Pajak on December 16, 2011 at 6:11 AM

I love the softness of the background and the textures of the grass in the bottom left corner! I always wonder when I see head on shots like these...how did you anticipate him coming? It takes REALLY fast reflexes to catch these guys at the right place & the right time...especially when they are headed straight towards you! Beautiful!

Registered on December 13, 2011, 216 Posts, 1671 Comments