Gliding Snowy

Gallery: AvianPosted March 13, 2012239 views13 comments

After several trips to photograph the snowy owls this winter, I have learned to pick a photogenic owl perched in a nice area first thing in the morning and just hang out with that owl. Because sooner or later another owl will do a close fly-by and sometimes even join the already perched owl, which is what happened here. Nothing better than a live decoy.

Canon MkIV, 600mm, 1/2000, f8, ISO 500, manual spot meter, cropped about 20% both sides and top

All your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated

Ken Archer

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on March 13, 2012 at 10:29 PM

Nice flight image. I like the grasses below the owl creating a very nice view of habitat. The eyes are crystal clear with great light. Good plan on the capture.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 14, 2012 at 12:30 AM

Sweet shot Ken, I like the sharp, head on view and the habitat.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on March 14, 2012 at 1:04 AM

I like the extreme low angle here, Ken. It offers a unique perspective compared to other flying owl shots, but more importantly, you get the dark underside of the wings, which provides nice contrast against the sky and really helps define the owl's shape.

Max

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

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on March 14, 2012 at 1:32 AM

Very sweet shot. No criticisms but it would be interesting to me to see how it looked if you cropped out all the grass to about the middle of the trees on the right leaving just the tops of the stems in the picture. Just a thought of mine. Overall this is an excellent picture!

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Ralph Kerr on March 14, 2012 at 6:46 AM

Fantastic, Ken. I was wondering what it would look like with some of the grass cropped out, such as Robert suggested, but then I decided I like it better as is because it gives more of a sense of flight above the ground. Just my 2 cents worth for a great photo

Registered on January 30, 2007, 369 Posts, 852 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on March 14, 2012 at 9:22 AM

Excellent flight shot Ken, I especially like the frontal POV and great bottom here.
Well done!!

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

Comment posted by keith mitchell on March 14, 2012 at 2:53 PM

Ken it looks great as presented no nits from me.

Keith.

Registered on July 12, 2008, 127 Posts, 1735 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on March 15, 2012 at 4:07 PM

Hello Ken

SWEET ! Smarter than the average birder !! Well done, Sharp detail & excellent Eye contact.

TFS

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on March 15, 2012 at 5:35 PM

Wonderful moment of capture and post shoot results. I would fidddle with cropping if their is room to do so.

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on March 15, 2012 at 5:56 PM

Awesome image, Ken! I love the way the snowy's eyes look, and the full wingspread is so nice. I really like your comp, and think that the habitat in the bottom of the frame is a bonus. Really nice angle, too!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on March 16, 2012 at 10:15 AM

Just right as presented, I think.

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 16, 2012 at 1:08 PM

Great face and flight position here!
Nice environment and detail.
Love it!
And thanks for the advice - still hoping to find some owls this spring.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 16, 2012 at 1:23 PM

Wonderful snowy flight shot and good observation to find the right opportunity, the larger image looks great with those yellow eyes and the light/dark contrast of the wings, way to go.

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