Great Gray Owl Fun With the El-Cheapo 18-55 "kit lens"!!!!

Marina and I had a vision of taking some wide angle photos of these beauties, and after pre-visualizing and talking strategy we went to work and had a little bit of fun. It was time to whip out the ultimate weapon in my arsenal...the 18-55mm kit lens:c3:. The owl cooperated, and our plan worked to a "t". What I like here is that we get a great view of the habitat these bird birds are found in...

Canon 7D + 18-55mm kit lens @40mm, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/640s., f/10, ISO 1600, natural light, handheld, almost FF, baited.

Daniel:

Well, guess its time to sell the 600!

Just amazing that they would come in that close. Excellent light on the bird, I almost would have suspected some subtle fill flash here, but the snow obviously was your reflector.

He must have flared to almost a standstill to get him so sharp at that shutter speed.

Big congrats.

Cheers

Randy

Great image Daniel! I like the wing position, fanned tail, sharpness, light, setting and composition.

Definitely a cool frame and an awesomely close encounter! I know that this shot was especially rewarding for the two of you, because you both had a vision and went for it.

For another of Daniel's close encounters, have a look at this thread.

That perspective rocks! Congrats on a very nice capture.

Very nice capture! The wide angle on these diurnal owls seems to be what many are going for recently.

It was so much fun plotting these wide angle captures with you, Daniel, and you really nailed it! I am green with envy!

That really is beautiful. Nice going!!!

Daniel, fantastic shot. Most of us are still trying to shoot an owl with our longest telephotos, so it is hard to imagine shooting an owl with a wide angle. May I ask was it a remote camera set up? Love the owl. the wing position, the blurring of the feet and tail which suggests motion and depth. You nailed this one for sure!

This is amazing, love the wide angle shot that have the owl as the main subject while showing the environment nicely. Love the owl pose and the tree on the left help frame the owl very well. A very good job well done!

Wow can't believe this was possible! I guess a slight head turn could improve this images, but WOW. Awesome.

Cool perspective. I too like the view of the habitat these birds live in.
Those eyes are really engaging and I must say this is the first bird image I've seen with an 18-55 :)
Very well planned and executed!

Outstanding image Daniel -- we'll be seeing Doug sell his 600 II now ;-)

Fantastic shot, Daniel. Sometimes a kit lens creates beutiful images in good hands.

OK, FF images of this Beautiful with a landscape lens is just rubbing it in!
Great shot, It looks like a great time, cold and all.
I am Still amazed at how close you can get to them.

oh man! what can you say. wish this frame was mine

Wow!!!
Superb shot!!!
Love the pose, excellent backgorund, and terrific comp.
Congrats on executing a well thought out plan.
Well done.

Over the top. A real master piece. It is the photographer and not the equipment .

Hi Dan, absolutely nailed. What an awesome incoming pose, and great to see the surrounding enviroment. Well planned, and very well captured.

its all been said,great image,well done.

Nice work showing what is possible with the El-cheapo kit lens in the right hands.

It has all been said above but this is simply amazing. Well thought out and achieved.

TFS,
Rachel

Shocking good, Daniel ! I'm surprised at the BG being OOF at F/10. That's an interesting phenomenon.

Oh, and how did you get it to jump when it was so close to you ?

Is the image cropped ?

Thanks a stack all! I had a feeling this one would ellicit questions :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loi Nguyen

May I ask was it a remote camera set up?

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Loi, no remote setup for this...just good old-fashioned eye in the viewfinder and finger on the shutter...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill Jobes

Shocking good, Daniel ! I'm surprised at the BG being OOF at F/10. That's an interesting phenomenon.

Oh, and how did you get it to jump when it was so close to you ?

Is the image cropped ?

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Hey Bill. At this point the owl is about 6 feet from the lens and the BG a couple hundred yards away hence the slightly OOF look to it. The owl did not jump, it is actually coming in for a landing and was enticed via bait. It was perched in the taller tree at left of the frame. The image is cropped for composition but still about 85-90% FF.

Wow Daniel - I think your next task will be to use a pin-hole camera!

Like you mentioned, the use of the wide(r) angle really "uncompresses" the bg and lets you see the habitat. Winner!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daniel Cadieux

Thanks a stack all! I had a feeling this one would ellicit questions :-)





Hey Bill. At this point the owl is about 6 feet from the lens and the BG a couple hundred yards away hence the slightly OOF look to it. The owl did not jump, it is actually coming in for a landing and was enticed via bait. It was perched in the taller tree at left of the frame. The image is cropped for composition but still about 85-90% FF.

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Thanks for the explainer, Daniel. You did a fabulous job of planning and executing this -- and it shows in the final product -- truly one of the best BIF photographs I've ever seen.

Daniel - different wins :-)

Super stunning image, great planning and well carried out! Isn't it great when a plan works out, great work!

I think the quality of your images are stunning Daniel especially considering you normally only use a 100-400, but a cheapo 18-55 and an image like this well that’s just something else!!! This lens has allowed you to show this beautiful Owl in its surroundings far better than if you had used a telephoto.

Dan, what a shot. loved the perspective. Great execution...must have been a great experience. those trees in the BG add so much....and also the snow in the air.

I am wondering if opening up the aperture a bit would have been better...a little bit more OOF Bg and higher SS to get sharp wing-tips?

talking abt cheapo lenses....u should get the 40f/2.8. so small it fits in the pocket. I am liking the bokeh it delivers. I use it for casual outdoor family shots....but you can use it for owls, I guess :-)

Excellent shot! Who needs to use a super-tele!!! The wide angle sure capture the environment very well.

Great stuff DC.... Loved this...

DC your other GGO pics were very nice but this one is AMAZING. One of the best I've seen. I'm not okay with the baiting of birds, but I know full well that an image like this would be IMPOSSIBLE otherwise. I also know that you're probably not ruining the bird's day...in fact I'm sure he appreciates the help. It does feel like photographic cheating, which is why I'm opposed to it in my own artmaking, but I don't judge others who do it and it's my opinion that everyone should loosen up in that department. A "physician heal thyself" philosophy could well apply. Very well done, a real beauty...