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Thread: Snowy Owl

  1. #1
    Forum Participant Joe Senzatimore's Avatar
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    Default Snowy Owl

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    From a recent outing. About a 50% crop as these birds spook very easy. Didn't want to get to be the one who spooked it. Left that honor to others , and they did not dis-appoint. Shot this bird for about an hour without any problems. 5 min after a group of birders showed up they made so much noise , the bird flew off. Something that happens very often here.

    800 ISO F5.6 at 1/3200th
    Minus 2/3
    Cleaned up a bit in PS and cropped for composition.

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    Nice one Joe. Good work ethic too. I 'd place the bird more to the right if it were mine.

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    Very nice work, Joe.
    I like the habitat very much and a nice sleepy look back pose.
    Dan Kearl

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hi Joe, lovely setting, good eye contact from the snowy, and dont you want to punch someone when they scare away a willing subject.

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    A beautiful image Joe.
    You are the first "east coaster" to post a shot of this beautiful owl. Looks like it will be an irruption year for us! Lovely IQ and soft light.
    I like the habitat and agree about moving him right in the frame.
    I do wish he had even more of a head turn so that we could fully see the right eye.
    Well done,
    gail

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Joe:

    This one works well for me. Yes, a bit to the right might be slightly stronger compositionally, and a little more head turn our way, but the strong environmental component, while still maintaining a clear view of the bird is excellent.

    Cheers

    Randy
    MY BPN ALBUMS

    "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy" Sir Isaac Newton

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    Nice habitat Image with an wondefull bird. The sleepy look back pose is my eyecatcher.

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    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
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    Good one, Joe. Shows him well in his (or her?) habitat. Well exposed.

    I had exactly the same experience on Friday at Sandy Hook. I was able to crawl up relatively close to my bird, coming in behind a low rise on the beach in a very low, gradual approach. Like you, I was determined not to be the one to spook the bird, although when I first saw him my wife and I were the only ones on the beach. I watched and worked the beautiful bird for 40 minutes, with no sign of stress. Two other photographers eventually came up behind me, very stealthily and respectfully; and then some fool felt he could just walk right up to the bird, which of course flew down the beach. This person followed him, again tried to walk up to him, with the same result. By that time there were a number of birders watching from a distance. This event and a few others like it have prompted an anti-photographer rant on the local birding listserv, which unfortunately lumps all of us in with the few numbskulls. Most unfortunate.

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    Forum Participant Joe Senzatimore's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dix View Post
    Good one, Joe. Shows him well in his (or her?) habitat. Well exposed.

    I had exactly the same experience on Friday at Sandy Hook. I was able to crawl up relatively close to my bird, coming in behind a low rise on the beach in a very low, gradual approach. Like you, I was determined not to be the one to spook the bird, although when I first saw him my wife and I were the only ones on the beach. I watched and worked the beautiful bird for 40 minutes, with no sign of stress. Two other photographers eventually came up behind me, very stealthily and respectfully; and then some fool felt he could just walk right up to the bird, which of course flew down the beach. This person followed him, again tried to walk up to him, with the same result. By that time there were a number of birders watching from a distance. This event and a few others like it have prompted an anti-photographer rant on the local birding listserv, which unfortunately lumps all of us in with the few numbskulls. Most unfortunate.
    Yes Bill. This is a big problem here as well as other areas. I hate being lumped in the same category as all the fools out there. I make every effort , no matter what the subject, to not disturb the natural behavior or stress the animal in any way. I have attempted , on many occasions , to educate some wrong doers , only to wind up in a confrontation with that person. It takes all my will power to not let it get physical, so I no longer assume the role of educator. Just makes me mad to be seen by others as a fool ,just because I carry a camera and long lens , as opposed to a spotting scope. Talk about profiling , this takes the cake.

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Nice shot of this beauty. The exposure and details look great. Nice look at the beach habitat too. Well done

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    Beautiful setting. You balanced the visual elements perfectly here. To me, it has a classic eastern seaboard snowy owl image "feel" to it.

  12. #12
    Roman Kurywczak
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    Hey Joe,
    Glad you found one this early! I know the one Bill speaks of here in NJ.....not even going to try after some of the stories I heard!

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    Excellent image with very nice environment.Nice lights.Love the pose and beautiful composition.

    Regards,
    Satish.

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