Owl Quest

[Jason G. Harrison]

I decided long ago this winter I was going to concentrate on getting as many species of Owls as I could. The first leg in this quest was this past weekend and it was one of those special times we sometimes get. After lots of research, scouting, waiting, etc...the time was right to attempt to get some shots of some Short-eared Owls. Things worked wonderfully. I soon found myself surrounded by 20 Short-eared Owls. I took the time to stop and enjoy the show several times and counted to be sure! I had 9 Owls in one tree roosting, the others were perched or flying around me hunting the native grass field I was set up on. Normally they roost in the field, but with 12+ inches of snow, plus the huge wind blown drifts, they have now taken residence in the cedar trees on the edge of this field, ALL of them:D! I got between the roost site and the hunting field and had a wonderful day.

This was one of my favorites for the day. I did clone out a section of wire on the tree stump, and a few seed heads that were half in the frame. This Owl allowed me to set up on it 3 seperate times. The first 2 times the vegetation was still coming up behind its head and I wanted a clean shot. I was lucky it was more interested in not getting knocked off its perch by the other Owls and also looking for more food (notice blood on feathers). I was finally able to get this view, which was the cleanest shot available for this spot. This happened right as the sun popped out again and was about to set behind the hills to the west.

I took a incident reading of the available light and added 2/3rds exposure for my manual exposure settings.

D300s, 600VR, 1.4tc, f/6.3, ISO 800, 1/1600th SS (the bg is actually a snow covered hill)
http://www.jasongharrison.com/images/1386_3x4h_signed_ps_S.jpg

Hope my attempts in the upcoming weeks for several other species turns out like this day did. Hope you enjoyed. As always, C&C welcome.

Jason

[Dan Busby]

Beautifully done Jason. Nice sweet lighting, bang on exposure and great eye contact. Background vegetation not obtrusive. The red blood droplets are a real bonus.

[Steve Maxson]

Sounds like you had a great day, Jason. Beautiful light, a nice pose, good sharpness, and the blood drops are a plus. I also like the plants included in the scene. I wonder if a little CW rotation would help? - I say this looking at how the pupils do not line up horizontally (this is a minor point and maybe the owl just had its head tilted a bit). Well done.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Very nice day you seem to have had, and well done on taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities that were presented to you. Great looking individual, and the late light really made his plumage glow. Nice weathering on the perch, and the vegetation surrounding it adds lots. My one wish here is that the sun was directly behind you to equally illuminate the other eye.

Embedded exif reads ISO 800?

[Jason G. Harrison]

Very nice day you seem to have had, and well done on taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities that were presented to you. Great looking individual, and the late light really made his plumage glow. Nice weathering on the perch, and the vegetation surrounding it adds lots. My one wish here is that the sun was directly behind you to equally illuminate the other eye.

Embedded exif reads ISO 800?

Daniel, you are correct, I mistakenly typed ISO 400, indeed this was an ISO 800 shot...light was fading and I wanted to keep a good speed up in case of a flight shot possiblity. I will edit my post to show the correct ISO setting.

[Ed Cordes]

Nice pose and good feather detail. I too wondered about the darker right eye (bird's right). While it isn't textbook lighting, the more I look at it the better I like the side lighting. It seems more real in this image.

[Bryan Erb]

Real nice capture, sweet light and bird is nice and sharp, great eye contact, and the vegetation adds depth to the image.

[david cramer]

What a great day you had! Nice comp, beautiful light, and great detail. If you are open to it, I'd brighten the right eye a tad. Good luck with the other owls!

[Jason G. Harrison]

I think I prefer the original as it was taken as that is how it was, but I did play with this to brighten up the "shaded" eye, and added a catch light. I wish it would have turned its head ever so slightly to allow this to have occured naturally. Here is a repost showing that.

http://www.jasongharrison.com/images/1386_3x4h_signed_ps_v2_S.jpg

[david cramer]

I think the repost is an improvement. Looking forward to more of your owls.