Northern Saw-Whet Owl...Captive

[Grady Weed]

This little fellow was hit by a car and now is a permanent resident at the York Wildlife Center in York, Maine. The director has let me go to the center with prior notice and they will bring the owls, hawks, and occasional eagle out to perch so I can photograph them. Since they let me do this, I usually give them the raw files and a suggested tiff file for them to sell free of charge. They do a good job of taking care of mostly avian subjects. This particular owl was photographed only 8' away.

Info: Canon EOS 5D, Shooting Date/Time: 12/14/2007 11:36:14; Tv(Shutter Speed 1/1250 Sec; Av(Aperture Value): F8.0; Evaluative metering; Exposure Compensation -2/3; ISO 400; Lens EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM; Focal Length 300.0 mm. Shot from tripod under sunny skies with sun to my back and to the right of the bird. The keeper has the owl on a glove, holding it, so I had to work fast so the keeper could go back to work. I was allowed about a dozen frames.

Any suggestions for improvement are greatly appreciated. Perhaps next time use my 28-135 or 100-400 since the minimum focus distance is less?

[Lana Hays]

Grady
Saw-whet Owls are so cute....and seem so delicate. You did a fine job with this one.....especially since he was on the glove. Just because they are captive doesn't mean that the image is any easier to get. Very nice details and color. What a wonderful act of kindness to donate the image. Well done on all accounts.....and I hope that others will consider ways to help rehab centers.

[Jeff Nadler]

HI Grady!

You captured a very cute expressive portrait here. Depth of field is nice, sharp detail, and the bird's curved position are ideal. The only thing I notice is the shade on the eye at left. Fill flash of course would avoid it, but flash might not have been permitted and might bother the owl at such a distance. The lens that you used is much sharper than the two mentioned so you might sacrifice crisp detial by switching.

[Jim Poor]

Very nicely done and it's great that you have a good give and take relationship with the rehabbers. On the left eye, I would be reluctant to use flash unless it were remote and far away, but a reflector of some sort might be just right. Even a white piece of construction paper to bounce just a little light in that direction.

[Jim Neiger]

Hi Grady,

Very nice close up of this little Owl. I agree with about the shadow crossing the bird's right eye. You can minimize it by selectively using the shadow highlight tool in PS.