Great Horned Owls - Dinner is Served

This is one of my favorite images of 2013. I have photographed this nest 3 years in a row, and these birds and images of them have brought me so much joy. The Great Horned Owl chicks were only a few days old and for the most part hidden when momma decided to feed them a katydid. The owlets blindly struggled for their fair share! This image was cropped from vertical to horizontal so not as much detail as I would have liked but enough to make me happy.

Canon 1D4, Canon 500 & 2.0 @ 1000mm
F10, 1/250sec, ISO 800, manual mode
Fill flash w/BB
Feisol tripod, Jobu head

C & C always welcomed and much appreciated.

Incredible image, congratulations! It really touches me :)

Sorry, but I don't know how could it be better. Nevertheless you say that you cropped it from horizontal to vertical, but it seems that it's the other way around. At least in my tablet I'm seeing it horizontal.

Great moment Marina. Even though it was in the open, the distance plus the variation of light around the area making shooting a tough shooting condition. I went there about 3 times but did not get many exciting feeding shots like yours.
IQ suffers a bit that I do agree but it is still a keeper.

Marina, a wonderful image. When you reference Fill flash W/BB, what does that mean? How far a away from the subject were you?

Thanks...Terry Johnson

Very special, easy to understand why it is one of your favourites. Wonderful capture. Bravo!
Regards, Ian

This is very cute Marina! details look good to me

Lovely Marina Well done :S3:

Wow, I had to look twice to put this pic together - the two beaks threw me off but then helped me realise what I was seeing! Great shot, Marina! Nothing I would have done differently - well done!

Wonderful camouflage. Absolutely superb image of beautiful moment.

Regards,
Satish.

I had to look at this a few times too to realise what was going on!!

Great interaction between parent and young. This one would have made me happy as well

TFS

Great shot, like the others have mentioned, I'm not sure how you could have improved on this

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Terry Johnson

Marina, a wonderful image. When you reference Fill flash W/BB, what does that mean? How far a away from the subject were you?

Thanks...Terry Johnson

---

Hi Terry:

I was using fill flash with the Better Beamer (BB).

I am not sure how far we were from the nest and Bridge no longer gives me that info for some reason. I would guesstimate maybe 15 yards from this particular side of the nest. Shot from the other side as well but we were closer.

Talk about award winning, magazine cover, Marina. What a moment and contented family. You've outdone yourself with this remarkable image. Great use of FF.





Geoffrey

Hi Marina, I feel all thecdetail is there, and nice and sharp too. Love the hungry mouths/beaks of the chicks, and mom looks well camouflaged in her nest. An opportunity well used, and well captured.

Sweet Marina, a very touching moment captured and remembered. It would be a favorite of mine also.

excellent behavior shot. Great subjects. Well done

Awesome as usual Marina - your behavioural shots are just stunning!

Very nice Marina!! Love the tight look of this family and the feeding of the chick puts this in a class of its own. The detail and exposure look great also and I really like the V of the tree and the little bit of OOF BG with the grass i it. Love it.

Love the poses and feeding behavior. Nicely composed, and I like the hint of vegetation in the BG.

Wonderful! Great moment captured. The details looks good for me. Well done, Marina.

One of your best Marina!
Congrats!
Gail