Up, Up and Away

Gallery: AvianPosted December 10, 2011408 views14 comments

Another shot from my session with the snowy owls at Ocean Shores. I got a few in-flight shots, but this is the only one from this sequence that didn't have wing tips cut off. I learned my lesson after that and gauged my distance better for flying shots, but didn't get this type of opportunity again.

This was one of 6 owls that I sat with for a while starting before sunrise. They were spread out along a series of logs in the grassy area out on Damon Point.

Canon 7D
Canon 500mm f/4 IS + 1.4x TC
ISO 800
1/1600th
f/5.6

Max

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Verdon on December 10, 2011 at 2:40 PM

awesome and with bloody foot, eye contact, soft light so what else ........great action shot!

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on December 10, 2011 at 4:52 PM

I'm glad you were able to get one image from the sequence, anyway. This small version looks very sharp and detailed.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on December 10, 2011 at 6:57 PM

Love this shot. I cannot add a thing to make it better.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on December 10, 2011 at 8:26 PM

Max, Great techs and I love the eyes, they seem almost cross-eyed IMO. I am not to fond of all the room on the right side. If this were mine I would crop a lot of the right side and make it almost a vertical crop.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on December 11, 2011 at 1:27 AM

Max: this is outstanding. I'm extremely envious!

Excellent techs, great positioning and "pose" (i.e. great capture), intense look, and for my taste, great comp. This is a beaut. I need to go look for snowies now.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Suzanne Huot on December 11, 2011 at 5:32 AM

You only need one image like this fine capture ,to make your day so worthwhile,Beautiful light too.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 32 Posts, 240 Comments

Comment posted by John Blumenkamp on December 11, 2011 at 7:46 AM

This is great Max... I really like that curled right wing with the tips wrapping around in front of the face. And of course those eyes are awesome. If mine, and since there is all that uniform blue sky, I might play with adding canvas to the left side of the frame and cropping so the owl is then in the right side of the image and flying into the frame... just an idea. :-) Great image!

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

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on December 11, 2011 at 8:41 AM

I really like the pose, but think a crop from bottom and right would help improve this. You got excellent detail and I like the blood on the foot...wonder how he kept his face so clean! Sharon

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

Comment posted by Craig Strand on December 11, 2011 at 12:57 PM

Very nice Max, I would love to catch one of these inflight.

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on December 11, 2011 at 4:11 PM

Thanks everyone. Obviously I chose this crop because in my mind it enhances the directionality of the flight (fading to the left). As for the blood, I noticed many of the owls over two days carrying food around in their talons. They would occasionally snack while perched, and would fly off with their meal clutched tightly. I could never ID the food, though a friend examined a pellet when he went down there and found bird bones.

Max

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

Comment posted by Richard Teller on December 11, 2011 at 5:20 PM

Great image. The action, the stare, the placement of the owl in the frame and the way he stands out from the background make this fine image.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on December 12, 2011 at 1:20 PM

Great flight action very well captured, Max. Very well done.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on December 12, 2011 at 3:52 PM

Interesting mix of morning light and background color add to this shot, I like the cross eyed look, nice job in getting this difficult shot, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on December 13, 2011 at 1:15 PM

I am impressed, great one ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments