Great Horned Owl + 3

Having already started a thread dealing with questions relating to the Great Horned Owl nest and appreciated the comments from those who took the trouble to view and comment I now have stage two which I would also like additional advice on.

Canon 1D3 1/1000sec f/8.0 ISO800 1120mm Canon 800mm + 1.4x 1120mm
on tripod plus bean bag on top trying to absorb movement.

The nest is located 39ft above ground 800 feet from my location the bow with the nest is moving 3-4 inches side to side in a gusty wind.

I'm trying to speed the shutter to eliminate the movement in the sway.

I can also post a ground shot of the set up that I have.

I have seen and photographed three fledglings plus the adult female at various stages of development. .

Although my results are not pro quality the local nature center staff are using my pictures and results to create awareness and inform young kids of the wonders of nature.

Any advice and critique comments most welcome.

Thanks for looking.

This is the location with a general view I would be very interested to know how you would approach this subject.

Thanks for looking.

I really can't see that you could do much more other than hire a crane........

What are you trying to improve upon ? Picture quality I assume ?

OK Barry,

The first thing I'd look at doing is not extending the centre column on your tripod. Chances are it will not be helping in keeping your lens and camera stable when shooting. the slightest vibration - either from you, wind or from mirror slap will set that centre column vibrating/ringing.

If you were to watch most of the 'big glass' togs on this forum (and on other forums), you'd find that 99% of them would be using a tripod without a centre column - usually a tripod + ballhead (& sidekick) or tripod + wimberley. Those who do have a centre column, will usually have it fully closed down, or even removed.

I'm not sure what your tripod is, but again, most of us use a very sturdy pod - usually one of the Gitzo carbon fibre range. I don't know what the new range numbers are, but the two I use are the CF1325 and CF1540 which are now superceeded by newer numbering.

You might find that actually taking the lens off the tripod, and sticking it on a couple of beanbags on the car roof/bonnet would be better for you!

Difficult one Barry.
Not a lot you can do except keep going as you are and as Nick says don't use the column.
You could also tie a bag of bricks under the tripod. Sounds daft but it really works . Some have a hook you can hang the bag on.
Cheers
JohnR

nice family scene, really like the poses

You could also use live view in conjunction with a remote release, live view is the same as mirror lock up but you see what your taking at the same time.

Hi Barry

Tripod technique aside, you're about one to two stops under-exposed. If you look at the histogram you'll see that it's way too far to the left. I've had a quick fiddle with the levels and brought it closer to where it should be. When you return try taking a meter reading off the grass and setting this as your exposure.
Hope this helps and I'm dead jealous that I don't have the dilemma of how to best photograph a Great Horned Owl!

Simon

Improved picture quality is my prime target Graham.

Also I have been using the centre Column extension on the Gitzo ( GB4180 maybe US) that will stop.

I tried suspending the bean bag from the centre hook, also put the bean bag on top of the lens. Then I used the centre column the penny didn't drop

I have now removed the extender.

Thanks for the heads up and pointing out what should have been obvious to me. I guess I'm too keen to take the photo's when I should be thinking through how why and when.

Barry - forget the beanbag off the bottom, or on top of the lens for now. The first thing to do is to remove the centre column and replace it with the centre blanking plate. Then stick a ball had on it and then put the lens on that - or preferably forget the ballhead and get some sort of gimbal head - the 'full' Wimberley Head style would be best rather than the 'sidekick' style. If you find you're leaning down to the lens all the time, you might need to get a tripod that extends higher (without a centre column!).

Are there any US NPN'ers near to you? If so, could you arrange to meet some of them as I'm sure they'd be able to give you a lot of hints very quickly - sometimes it is hard for us to see things like the centre column issue on the 'net. It would have been obvious if one of us had met you and seen you shooting! Alternatively, when you get back to blighty, see if you can join in on one of the UKNP day events around the country.

Wonderful opportunity to watch these. Interesting comments here and very educational. I find that wind is undoubtedly the worst culprit - amazing to see the movement in my 600, never mind 800. At least you didn't have the common problem I find - heather or marsh. Sometimes it's impossible to get a stable tripod.