Barn owl in flight

[Tin Man Lee]

Haven't been posting for a while. Here's a photo I took few weeks ago. Been dreaming about getting a pic of barn owl in flight for a long time, so I was really excited to finally see this wild barn owl (not baited, not called in) hunting in day time in Central Coast, CA, which was quite abnormal and is still a mystery why they did that.

It's pretty unusual that an owl would fly towards a human. So I am pretty happy about it. It's just a lot and a lot and a lot of waiting and patience, for about 8 days to be exact.

Special thanks to Brent Paull and Donald Quintana for the great info and help.

Canon 1DX, 600mm II, 2x III, f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 3200.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent incoming pose, sharp. Great job at 1200mm. I like the blue and white tones in the sky.

[Karl Egressy]

Nice incoming flight shot of this nice species.

[christopher galeski]

very nice flight shot,and I like the BG.

[gail bisson]

Hi Tin Man,
So happy to see you posting here!
What a wonderful image.
Terrific gradient BG with the blues through to soft mauves.
Tack sharp on an incoming bird always gets extra points from me. Techs are solid and the 1Dx really has amazing ISO capabilities.
Excellent DOF from the tip of the beak to the top of the feet.
A wonderful image and TFS,
Gail

[Melissa Groo]

Extraordinarily beautiful, Tin Man. I love the colors in the background. Fantastic sharpness and detail. And congrats on getting a nonbaited owl flying straight towards you, that kicks true butt.
Yes, great to have you posting here, wish you would do so more.

[hennieloots]

Hi Tin Man - Absolutely awesome image is all can say. Brilliant.
TFS
Hennie

[LinzRiverBalmer]

Very nice, dreamy, print it big hang over the bed or sofa.

only thing.... I love the blue BG and wish some of those colors went further above the bird where it turns a bit too white.

[Grace Scalzo]

I'm one of your biggest fans, TinMan, and this is an example of why. Your skill is top notch, your field technique is as well, and the images you produce are with passion and from the heart. This sweet owl flying straight toward you with that lovely pastel background is a treat to the eye.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Superb incoming pose, sharpness and details for such combo! the light blue sky adds a nice touch to the image.

[Marina Scarr]

Many including myself are probably green with envy over your amazing barn owl opportunities. You really made the most of them, even when the conditions weren't in your favor. You really thought out of the box. Your varied BG really helps to make your owl more pronounced in the frame. Tack sharp on a raptor flying right at you...pretty impressive!!!

[Tin Man Lee]

Thanks every one for your kind comments and warm welcome. Glad to be back. Afterall, this was where I learned the most from you before when I first began. :)
Was very blessed with the opportunity of photographing these barn owls in day time, which make all my 4 hour drives at 2:30am worthwhile. The place was pretty insane, sometimes it could be covered with fog that I couldn't see my fingers, and sometimes it would be sunny and the light would be too harsh. All the poison oaks and rusty broken barbed wires in the field didn't help. I was using 600 and 2X in the first few days because the owls were pretty far away. Then eventually they were more comfortable with us and I could get full frame with a 600 and 1.4 which was a lot easier. Though I was also impressed with what the 2X can produce.

Linz, thanks for your suggestion about the transition of background color. I do have some incoming shots with a deeper blue color behind the owl, but the wing pose was completely horizontal, and I don't know how to make a good composition out of it except going panoramic. Maybe I will post that one later.

Once again, thank you all for the kind words.

I am still trying to figure out how to process the photos, because the owl is white, and the background is light colored, the level curve is all the way to the right...

[Aidan Briggs]

Hey Tin Man, great to see you on here! I love the head on pose and soft background. I know how tough that light was too. Hope to see in you in the field again sometime and keep posting your work on here!

[Tin Man Lee]

Hi Aidan, so good to hear from you. It's a pleasure to meet you there. I am still green with envy when the barn owl flew to you and hover in front of you for such a long time! What a moment and I am so happy for you.
Look forward to seeing you again soon!

Hey Tin Man, great to see you on here! I love the head on pose and soft background. I know how tough that light was too. Hope to see in you in the field again sometime and keep posting your work on here!