Locked-On

Hi everyone...and warmest wishes for 2013!

Jenaya and I started digging through the 2012 files a little over the holidays and one of the wildlife encounters that ranked way up there for me was a few days spent with some Great Grey Owls in the foothills of Alberta.

This one is far from the best I suppose, especially given the contrasty light at mid-day, but this is when we found her, and I loved quietly finding angles for new portraits of her has she surveyed an opening in the forest for prey. I was finally in the right place and ready when she locked on to some movement in the distance, and squeezed the shutter for one of my favourite sequences of these beautiful and majestic birds. I prefer the sequel to this shot with her wings raised about to lift-off, but thought I'd introduce this series in chronological order.

Not much to add other than my favourite part of this was exploring the forest and quietly photographing these owls with my three daughters, all photographing her from various vantage points. For once, I had the best angle, so my name is attached to this one.

A few more to come of this owl, along with my personal favourite from 2012 of a fledgling branching.

I welcome your comments and suggestions for improvement, etc.!

Field Notes:
Nikon D7000
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4 IF-ED with TC-14EII teleconverter
ISO 400
1/1000 @ f/7.1
-0.3EV to preserve details in whites
squatting on ground, monopod mounted

Processing Notes:
Converted from RAW using Phase One Capture One Pro 7, minor adjustments to highlights and shadows
Slight tweaks to tonality and contrast using Nik Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 4
Cloned distracting branch from background above owl's shoulders
Usual sharpening drill with selective masking to keep feathers from getting "crunchy"
Cropped horizontal from vertical